


Family

by justhere



Category: K-pop, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Angst, Attempted Kidnapping, Dog Fighting, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids, Jimin-centric, No Romance, No Smut, OT7, Past Abuse, SO MUCH FLUFF, Smol Jimin, hybrid!jimin, hybrid!jin, hybrid!jungkook, hybrid!taehyung, like lots of fluff, platonic namjin, platonic sugakookie, platonic vhope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2018-04-17 05:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 76,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4654515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justhere/pseuds/justhere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jimin finds himself rescued from a hyrid-dogfighting ring and adopted into a loving (if not unconventional) home.</p><p>It proves to be a challenge for everyone, but Jin is more than determined to show the new addition to their family what love is and how to return it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Found

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry. I'm hybrid!Jimin trash. No, I'm not sorry.

"Namjoonie~" Jin cooed from the kitchen, shuffling over to the living room sofa where his owner was sitting.

"... Yes, Jin?" Namjoon asked when Jin did nothing but stand there, swaying his tail back and forth and looking at him with his best pleading eyes.

"We're out of milk."

Jin barely got the sentence out of his mouth when an indignant "WHAT?" was being shouted from one of the bedrooms. Jungkook came stalking out a moment later with his ears perked. "What's this about the milk being gone?" He had a vile tone to his voice that had the other two narrowing their eyes in confusion. Jungkook scoffed and crossed his arms. "I called the last of it! I called it! I was going to drink it tonight with dinner, didn't everyone hear me say that?!"

Namjoon laughed at the two kittens he was dealing with (although both of them would have smacked him for even  _thinking_ about calling them 'kittens' rather than the "mature hybrids" that they are...). "No big deal, we'll just get more milk today. Maybe we can pick up some ingredients to make something different for dinner tonight? How's that sound?"

Jungkook flashed a happy smile and uncrossed his arms, his personality making a 180 flip. "Thanks hyung!" he shouted as he ran back to his bedroom to resume whatever he was doing prior to the milk incident. 

Jin also looked brighter than he had a moment ago. "What were you thinking of making for dinner?" He asked, coming to sit next to his owner on the sofa and cuddling his head into the other's shoulder. Namjoon grinned and brought one hand up to pet Jin's hair, eliciting quiet purrs. "I'm not sure. Why don't we ask around? Would you want to cook with me tonight?"

Jin smiled. He loved spending time with Namjoon. He's learned to cherish any time he gets with him because he's been busy as a medical student and hardly gets time to himself. Even now over winter break, he was working in an internship at the local hospital to get real life experience and Jin got a bit lonely without him- even with the others to keep him company. Hoseok was often busy teaching dance classes as a part-time job, and Yoongi was away at the producing studio working on his own projects about as much as Namjoon was at the hospital.

Jin stayed home watching over Jungkook, Yoongi's cat, and Taehyung, Hoseok's dog hybrid. He enjoyed it when Namjoon was home though, because as much as Jin was capable of taking care of the younger ones, he appreciated Namjoon's dominating presence even more. Jin could tell the other hybrids to do whatever he needed, but they didn't listen to him as much as they obeyed their owners and even Namjoon. He liked to think of his own owner as the head of the house; the leader. 

With the prospect of spending time making dinner with Namjoon on his night off, he agreed quickly to the suggestion. He hopped up and went off to poke his head into Yoongi's open bedroom door to see him at his desk playing around on his laptop while Jungkook was curled up on the end of Yoongi's bed trying to get a sneak peek at whatever his owner was doing on his computer. 

"Guys," Jin called out. "Namjoon and I are going to the store. What do you want for dinner?"

"Food?" Jungkook lifted his head. "Like, not ramyun or pizza?"

"Yeah!" Jin exclaimed happily. "What do you want?"

Yoongi took out one of his headphones so he could answer but Jungkook beat him to it. "MEAT!"

Jin heard the tinkling of a collar in the bedroom across the hall and went over there to ask Hoseok and Taehyung the same question, but when he opened the door, he saw Taehyung's head already raised with ears perked (though he remained in his position sprawled across the entire bed enjoying a belly rub courtesy of Hoseok). "I heard someone say meat. Are we having meat?"

"I suppose that answers my question," Jin declared, promptly turning and walking back to the living room where Namjoon was shrugging on his jacket. "Everyone wants meat..." Jin passed on the information in a deadpan, causing Namjoon to laugh and ruffle his hybrids hair. Jin grimaced as he manually put the strands back in place.

"Looks like it's decided then," Namjoon responded. "Why don't we get some meat and vegetables, and we'll cook them up with some rice?"

Jin smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Can we go now? I'm excited."

"I can tell," Namjoon commented with a laugh as he made his way to the door with the hybrid right on his heels. "Jin, go grab your jacket, it's freezing outside."

Jin's mouth made an 'o' shape as if he had completely forgotten that one detail about the winter and bounded off to his room to throw on a sweater over his tshirt and then a big jacket on over that. When he came back to the front hall, Namjoon had to stifle a laugh at how puffy he looked with the extra thick layers. The two put on their rainboots to avoid the snow on the ground and made their way out of the apartment building to walk to the corner store a couple blocks away.

Jin had a beanie covering his fluffy ears, but his tail still swished around behind him, making Namjoon protectively reach out to wrap an arm around his waist. They weren't romantically involved, no, but Namjoon could never be too careful with such a pretty hybrid like Jin in the big city. He'd heard enough horror stories to know better than to let his hybrid roam freely without him. Jin was never concerned, knowing that Namjoon would never let anything happen to him, even at this time of the evening when the sky was already beginning to darken.

It was chillier than either of the two anticipated though, so they quickened their pace and made it to the store in a couple minutes. Stepping inside, Jin shook a couple snowflakes off of his hat and pouted. Namjoon smiled at the adorable animal idiosyncrasies Jin would often demonstrate. "C'mon, let's get out of here quickly, I'm sure everyone back at home is hungry by now." 

"I'll go pick out the vegetables~" Jin declared happily, going off with a shopping basket in his hand. Picking what he wanted, he found Namjoon coming up behind him with everything else they needed. He dumped what was in his arms into the Jin's basket. It was only once they had already paid and had just left the store that Namjoon remembered something important they had forgotten.

"Oh! The milk!" he exclaimed, handing off his shopping bag to Jin so he could run back inside to get it. "Stay here, I'll meet you on that bench as soon as I'm done. I won't be longer than a minute!"

Jin grinned at the frantic Namjoon before following his orders and sitting on the bench. It was cold outside, so he placed the two shopping bags down on the bench beside him and stood up to pace a bit in hopes of warming himself up. There were surprisingly few people around for this time of day, but he assumed people were headed home to eat with their loved ones. In his shuffling, he accidentally kicked a loose pebble down the alleyway next to the market. The action was met with a whimper and Jin's heart clenched at the sound. 

He moved towards the dark alley slowly. He'd always had a soft spot for homeless people. Something about the thought of not having anyone who loves you enough to help you out when you're in need made him want to do anything he could do to help, whether it be offering food or someone to talk to for a moment. "Excuse me?" he called into the alley, not quite wanting to go all the way in. "Excuse me, are you hungry? I just got groceries... Do you like carrots?"

The sound he was met with was a growl, and it frightened him. Was it a stray dog instead of a person? Jin was afraid of dogs. The huffing that came afterwards threw him off, though. Dogs don't breathe quite like that... Going against his better judgement, Jin quickly returned to the bags of groceries and grabbed one of the fresh carrots before making his way back to the entry to the alley.

He pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight, inching forward and holding the carrot out in front of him (though no one would be able to tell if it was held out in offering or as a weapon of defense). "Hey... Is anyone here?" he called out cautiously, flashing the light around the walls of the alley before he saw a person laying on its side partly out of view behind a heap of trash bags.

Encouraged by the fact that he wasn't messing with a dog, Jin stepped towards the man more confidently. "Excuse me sir," he repeated when he got closer and squatted down. "Would you like-"

He was cut off when the man growled at him, and after gaining his bearings, Jin noticed the jet black tail and ears the man had. This was different, he thought. He'd never heard of a stray hybrid before. They were usually such a commodity that they were found and adopted before even being able to spend one night alone outside. This one still looked pretty young too, probably younger than Jin himself. He was shocked he hadn't recognized the scent of another hybrid, but it might have just been the heavy stench of garbage around them blocking it out.

The hybrid's eyes were squeezed shut and it made Jin realize he was pointing his flashlight right into his dirty face. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he apologized as he lowered the light to the ground. "Are you okay? It looks like you have some bruises on your face. If you need help, my owner is going to be a doctor, so-"

"Jin!" he heard Namjoon shouting. "Seokjin!"

He wanted to answer, but what he wanted more was to reach out to this poor young hybrid and get him some food. He reached forward to touch his cheeck to see how cold his skin felt when the hybrid growled once more and weakly pushed himself up on one forearm in an effort to bite Jin's hand. His reflexes were too slow compared to the cat's, and Jin had enough time to snatch his hand away. But what had him shocked was not the hostility he was met with, but the fact that his body had now shifted to reveal the pool of blood beneath him.

Jin had gasped in surprise, vaguely registering Namjoon's voice getting more panicked.

"Namjoon!" he called back, standing up and making his way back out to the sidewalk again. He was met by his owner in a frenzied mess, running forward to embrace Jin as soon as he saw him.

"Jin, what the hell were you doing, you scared the shit out of me-"

"Namjoon, come over here, quick, he needs help," Jin tried to explain, frantically pulling his owner into the dark alley. 

"Jin, stop, what the hell! We need to get home!"

"No, Namjoon, come now," he demanded, yanking Namjoon's arm harder until he had to obey for fear of getting his arm ripped off. When Namjoon caught sight of what Jin was talking about, his heart skipped a beat.

"Jin, we're leaving. Now," he insisted, trying to pull his hybrid away from the seemingly unfriendly creature baring his sharp teeth at them from the dirty concrete.

"No! Namjoon, he's injured, go help him! You're going to be a doctor, you know how to take care of people when they're hurt!"

Namjoon huffed. "Jin, I'm not a  _vet_. That's a hybrid."

"It's close enough! Please Namjoon, just look at him!" Jin was begging now, tears in his eyes.

Namjoon humoured him and took a longer look at the animal in front of them. Jin shined his flashlight back on the body and Namjoon's eyes widened. The hybrid was shrinking back, whimpering at the pain from the light and his injuries. He was no longer growling or showing his teeth, but trying to wiggle himself as far away as he could in his condition.

Namjoon sighed. "Listen, Jin, if it's that important to you, we will call him an ambulance and then we're leaving. Deal?"

Jin stomped his foot and his tail swished angrily. "Namjoon, look at him! He's lonely! He's a hybrid, he's not going to have any way to pay hospital bills- look, he doesn't even have a collar! He won't be able to do it himself!" Jin's ears were flattening against his head and Namjoon knew better than to piss off Jin... but he was also looking out for his safety.

"Stay right here for a second. And for goodness sake, stop pointing that light at him." Namjoon inched closer, and Jin complied by pointing the light down at the ground again- offering visibility without blinding the poor thing.

Namjoon was making cooing noises as he crouched down and began moving forward with his hand extended. "Hey kid," he called gently.

By this point, the hybrid had given up trying to move and flopped back down against the hard ground, shaking in fear that Jin could smell coming off of him in waves. "Namjoon, stop for a second, he's scared." His owner listened and stayed still.

"Hey there, are you alright?" he whispered from where he was squatting. "I'm sorry we scared you. Jin there just wanted to help. I promise we're not going to hurt you. Can I come closer?"

The hybrid eyed him warily but did nothing to deny his request. He didn't necessarily say yes either, but Namjoon would take what he could get. Slowly, he was able to make his way over to the injured boy, trying to calm him down by petting his hair. It was cold and wet, sticking together in clumps, but all hybrids like to be pet, right?

Namjoon noticed the way his tail twitched slightly, almost as if he wanted to wag it but couldn't find the energy. There was a small whine that escaped his mouth, and Namjoon wanted to cry at how pitiful he looked. "I'm going to take a quick look at you, okay? I promise I'm just trying to help." The hybrid still didn't respond, so Namjoon slowly trailed one of his hands down his bare arm while the other kept petting his head in hopes of keeping him calm and preventing him from becoming violent again.

Cautiously, he slipped his hand underneath the other's forearm and lifted it slightly so he could get a look at his torso. The hybrid wore nothing but a black tshirt and pants, and his skin was absolutely freezing. He couldn't see much with the tshirt in the way, but he could tell some of the wetness was not due to the melting snow underneath his body, but from the blood staning that snow a deep red.

A whimper drew him out of his musings and he lowered the arm again, apologizing for causing him pain. Jin had stepped forward, holding his heavy jacket out to Namjoon, offering it to be used to help the freezing hybrid. Namjoon immediately understood Jin's intense need to help the kid upon seeing the innocent face covered in dark bruises and deep cuts. He accepted the offered jacket and covered the hybrid's torso with it. 

"I'm going to pick you up, I'm sorry if it hurts," Namjoon muttered before scooping him up in his strong arms and holding him against his chest. Jin was quick to help, nuzzling into the hybrid's cheek to ensure him of his safety as he was in the presence of another hybrid. He tried to express his calm, happy emotions and hoped the other would pick up on it. He had whined when Namjoon picked him up, but now he was still again, though he continued to tremble. Jin could still sense a strong amount of fear coming from him, but he must have also just been cold. He adjusted the jacket over him to offer more coverage before Namjoon stood and began walking very slowly out towards the sidewalk.

Jin turned the flashlight from his phone off and rushed to put the carrot back inside one of the grocery bags. He gathered them up in his arms and followed Namjoon on the path back to their apartment. 

"If there's anything wrong that I can't help with, we're taking him to the hospital, got it?" Namjoon said firmly, hoping Jin understood that this may be out of their hands.

Jin nodded, walking alongside Namjoon now, and using one hand to thread through the injured boy's hair and rub the fur on the back of his ear that was pressed flat against his head. "Thank you, Namjoonie."

"I didn't promise anything."

"I know, but I just really want to help him. Thank you for trying."

The small noises coming out of the hybrid's throat every once in a while were confusing to Jin- he couldn't tell if they were out of pain or fear or hostility, and Jin was almost thankful that he was too weak to fight back because it would have made helping him so much more difficult.

He didn't know why he was left alone in the dead of winter in such poor clothing and frightening wounds, but whatever it was, Jin wanted to find out and help him to overcome the trauma of being abandoned in such a way. He himself was a shelter cat, so until Namjoon had adopted him, all he had known was his cage. There were other's around, sure, but being isolated in such a way with only a little bit of time per day to stretch his legs, to run around and explore, was a lonely way to live. Now he had an owner, and Jungkook and Taehyung, and even Yoongi and Hoseok to play with him and give him love. 

He just wanted to share that love with someone else who needed it. Show another hybrid that there was more to life than what it seems.


	2. Welcome

The first thing Jungkook smelled when Namjoon and Jin arrived back at home after their shopping trip was not meat, as he was expecting (and anticipating rather impatiently). Instead, Jungkook smelled another person.

His ears perked and his lifted his head up, the tinkling of his collar alerting Yoongi, who was still working on his laptop. He turned around to see Jungkook's confused expression. "What's up?"

Instead of answering, Jungkook hopped up from the bed and made his way to the hallway, where he saw Jin closing the front door and Namjoon carrying a huge heap of....  _hybrid dog_. Jungkook grimaced. "What the hell?" he exclaimed loudly. 

"Jeon Jungkook!" Jin chastised.

Jungkook only scoffed. There was no way in hell they needed another dog in this apartment- Taehyung was more than enough (if even a bit _too_ much). And this one was absolutely dripping wet and covered in dirt. Why bring something so dirty into their own home?

Yoongi stepped out of his room a bit slower, not knowing exaclty why Jungkook's attitute suddenly changed, when he also caught sight of Namjoon and his new... friend.

"Um... Namjoon... Care to explain?"

"Not right now," he sighed, sounding exhausted. "Please, can you just help Jin start dinner?"

Yoongi knew better than to press Namjoon on matters that made him stressed out, so he simply nodded and made his way warily around him to get to the kitchen where Jin was placing the grocery bags on the counter.

Namjoon made his way past Jungkook to his own bedroom so he could assess what he was dealing with. Meanwhile, Yoongi kept shooting Jin questioning glances as the two began chopping up the vegetables. Eventually, Jungkook made his way into the kitchen as well, hoping to make his displeasure known to the older cat hybrid, who had Namjoon wrapped around his figure. He figured that if anyone could make it go away, it was Jin.

Just when Jin thought he couldn't take any more of the curious and judgemental stares from Yoongi and Jungkook respectively, Taehyung came bounding into the room. 

"Is there a dog??" His fluffy tail was wagging playfully.

Seokjin set aside his knife and the onion he had just been cutting and took a deep breath. "I found a stray hybrid in an alleyway," he explained. "He was hurt so I had Namjoon bring him home to check up on him. That's all."

"Is he staying? What's his name? Favourite colour? Can we play-"

"I don't know, Tae, okay? I don't know anything, just that he needed help."

"Oh," Taehyung replied, not sounding phased enough to lower his excitement, seeing as he followed that up by running back to his room shouting "Hoseokkie, guess what?!"

It was quiet for a moment, and Jin resumed chopping the onion. Yoongi chose not to comment, and Jin was almost thankful for that. Jungkook, however-

"What if he kills us all in our sleep?"

Jin sighed heavily. "Jungkook, he can't even stand up on his own right now, would you calm down with the insensitivity?"

Jungkook's ears fell slightly, not liking when Jin got mad at him, but before he could reply, they heard a pretty loud thud coming from down the hallway. Jin was quick on his feet, ordering Yoongi to continue cooking and Jungkook to  _stay put_  before rushing down to his and Namjoon's room. Flinging the door open, he saw Namjoon on the ground and the hybrid working hard on opening the window, in the midst of a quick escape- or, as quick as he could be while still hardly being able to move his body.

"Namjoon!" Jin cried worriedly, rushing to his owner's side and helping him up. As soon as he was on his feet again, he rushed over to the window just in time for the boy's grip to slip, causing him to fall to the floor. Jin helped break the impact, glad that he was unable to get the window open. "What are you doing? We're on the 8th floor, you would have died!"

The hybrid whimpered and flinched at the tone Jin was using.

"I was trying to check his wounds, but he pushed me away and ran for it," Namjoon relayed with a grimace, dusting off the elbow of his jacket. Jin turned back to the boy he was trying to hold in his arms to see him crying. Shocked by the tears, Jin found that he couldn't speak.

"I can't, don't make me," the hybrid was croaking out. Jin realized that this was the first time he heard the other's voice. "Please, no more. I'm done, they said so. I'm out of service. Please take me back, I'm supposed to be dying..."

Namjoon approached again, crouching behind Jin to peek at the young hybrid over his own's shoulder. "What are you talking about? You don't need to die, you'll be okay," Jin tried assuring the creature.

"I don't want it," the hybrid continued to beg, breathing heavily from the effort of his attempted escape and begging. "I won't do you any good, I won't make you any money, just let me go please, let me die. I'm a failure now, you don't want me anyway, I promise."

Jin was stunned silent by the way he was trying so hard to convince him and Namjoon that he was useless to them. The poor kid was frantic, voice scratchy and even cracking in his distress. "Hey, hey, calm down, we're not going to make you do anything. We just want to fix you up, okay?" Jin spoke in the most soothing voice he could muster.

The young hybrid's eyes were flicking around nervously, and he was licking his lips as if debating whether or not to say what was on his mind. "And... And you have no intentions of using me once I'm better?" he whispered warily after quite some time to think.

Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows. " _Using_? What would we use you for?"

"For... F-for..  _You know_..."

"Like a pet? Are you asking if we plan to adopt you?" Namjoon asked to clarify. 

The kid's large ears flattened against his head and his shied away from the two, glancing between them rapidly as his confusion with the situation seemed to grow. Jin could sense the fear once again, and turned his head to look at Namjoon worriedly. "He's getting scared again," he whispered to his owner.

"Are you going to make me go back?" his voice came out quieter this time.

Namjoon shook his head. "I don't know what's going to happen, kid. But we won't send you back. We can help you find a nice home or something, but you don't have to go back out there. No matter what happens from now on, you're safe, okay?" Namjoon didn't exactly know the hybrid's situation, but he assumed it had something to do with an abusive or neglectful owner in the past that made him hesitant to be adopted again. "Let me just fix you up and you can get some food and sleep, alright?"

Though the boy still looked cautious and had not stopped trembling since they'd first seen him, he nodded slowly.

"Great," Namjoon said calmly, moving over so he could pull the kid out of Jin's arms. He shifted them over to the bed, and Jin stood to remove the blankets so that he would only dirty the washable sheets.

"I know you got scared last time, but I need you to let me take your shirt off. You're bleeding, and... you know..."

"Mm.." he hummed in reply, laying limply on his side and simply allowing Namjoon to do as he pleased. Jin didn't exactly like the expressionless look in his eyes, nor how pliant he was being, but he was finally accepting help and that had to count for something. 

Stripping him of his wet black tshirt, the first thing that caught Jin's eye was not his surprisingly solid build and uncharacteristic muscles, but the dark bruises littering them. He had a single gash taking up much of the expanse of his torso. He began shivering even more without the garment to protect him.

Jin didn't realize his eyes had widened so dramatically in shock until Namjoon sighed. "Jin... Would you mind getting him through a bath? I'll clean the injury and bandage it later, but he should be clean first."

Jin didn't question why Namjoon would request that of him rather than doing it himself. It was obvious that the hybrid was more comfortable with the touch of another hybrid as opposed to a random human. Jin agreed immediately, looking sadly at the far-off look on the boy's face as he stared straight past the two of them at the wall.

"I'm going to start the water, maybe check on the dinner progress, and then bring a couple towels and some spare clothes by the bathroom, okay?"

Jin nodded and helped the canine hybrid to stand as Namjoon stood and left the room. He was strugging holding up his own weight and seemed to have an issue with his left leg, so Jin tried putting his left arm around his shoulder to provide support when the younger one recoiled, growling violently.

"I'm sorry!" Jin yelped, concerned that he hurt the poor kid rather than afraid of his blatant display of aggression. "Did that hurt? I'm sorry, really. I'm just trying to help." He tried again, offering for the other to lean on him as much as he needed on their way to the bathroom just across the hall. They made it there in one piece, but by that time, the boy was already hugging himself as his teeth chattered away.

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" Jin said kindly as he checked the temperature of the water that Namjoon had begun for him. He wanted to make sure it was hot enough to warm him up but cool enough that it wouldn't hurt his open wound. "Go ahead and take the rest of your clothes off."

The boy began struggling to remove his pants as he eyed the bathtub curiously. "Where... Where is the- uh, the.. the  _spray_?" he asked, not quite knowing the words he was looking for.

"The shower?" Jin asked for clarification, turning back to look at the kid's innocent face while ignoring his battered body. He smiled softly as he explained. "That's what's up there," He pointed to the shower head coming out from the top. "This is a bath. I think it's a more relaxing way to get clean, especially if you are having trouble standing up."

He still looked confused, but not quite unwilling to go along with what Jin requested of him. Once he was naked, Jin helped him step into the now full tub after he'd turned the faucet off. The hybrid's reaction to coming in contact with the water was that of shock, and had Jin not already had a hold on him, he would have slipped and fallen to the floor in his effort to get away from it. Jin tried his best to hold the younger-looking one up after he freaked out, and Jin began panicking a bit as well.

"What's wrong?? Is it too hot? I can make it cooler!"

"How is it... The water... The- it's warm! Is it okay to go in?"

Jin sighed. "What are you talking about? Of course it's okay to go in! Come on," he encouraged, leading him back into the bathtub and getting him to sit down in the water. He sucked in a breath when part of his torso became submerged, but released a quiet sigh once he was sitting down all the way. "Have you never had a hot shower before?"

The boy looked embarrassed for a moment. "No... all of my master's would make us stand under the water until we rubbed all the dirt off..."

Jin's eyes widened a bit, but the other couldn't tell with the way he was watching his fingers dance around on the surface of the water. His fascination and curiousity about simple things had Jin wondering if he had been raised locked up in a basement somewhere, especially considering his use of the word 'master' (which Jin was choosing to ignore- for now. He figured he didn't need to pressure the kid into spilling his life secrets in that one night. At least let him get some rest first).

"Well here, have you used soap?" he asked, pulling over a bottle of his own soap, adjusting to the other's confusing quirks and obvious lack of life experience quickly.

He shook his head and Jin smiled, encouraging him to lay down a bit more so his head rested on the side of the tub. This way, it was easier for Jin to wet his hair, The other squinted his eyes shut, not liking the water in his face, but Jin prevented it from getting in his eyes anyway.

When he began rubbing shampoo into the black hair, the other's eyes slipped closed- not in fear of getting soap in them, but out of contentment (if the humming noises and sighs he was making were any indication). He noticed a small clump of what he assumed to be blood, working gently so as not to aggravate any injuries. Jin smiled softly, feeling quite like a father taking care of their young child.He'd always had this nurturing side to him, and he didn't even know why this stranger was acting so comfortable around him when he'd been nothing but afraid and belligerent around Namjoon. 

As Jin rinsed the shampoo out of his clean hair, a sudden thought popped into his head. "Hey... What's your name? I'm Seokjin. Everyone calls me Jin."

The other's eyes blinked open and Jin was confused to see surprise in his gaze. "You mean you don't know?"

Jin cocked his head to the side, his hands going lax over the side of the tub once he was finished rinsing out the shampoo. "No..."

"I'm... King? Or you might know me by Ace, that's what my master before the last one called me..." Sensing that Jin wasn't recognizing any of the names he'd listed, he gaped a bit. "Nevermind," he said quickly, averting his eyes down to the water.

Jin could tell he wanted to change the subject so he brought his hand up to run over the other's big black ears. "How old are you? What is your base breed?"

"19. I'm a purebred German Shepherd," he listed off as if he were reading it from a paper, or had heard that question too many times and the answer just seemed mechanical at this point. Either way, Jin understood why his ears stood as tall as they did, looking almost out of proportion to his small features and short stature.

"That would explain it. Your ears are so big, and I've never seen such a muscular hybrid before. It must come from that."

The younger's eyebrows furrowed, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, about to make some sort of argument, but instead, all that came out was- "I've never seen a cat hybrid before. I didn't know that was.. like,  _a thing_..."

" _Really_?"

The other's shy nod made Jin's heart swoon. He couldn't believe Namjoon would even consider giving him to a shelter or having someone else adopt him. There was no way Jin was letting this one go, despite not knowing his obviously troubling past experiences or why he thinks and acts the way he does. 

"Well," Jin continued, sensing the other's interest in the subject. "My base breed is Maine Coon. We are very majestic." he said in a fake stuck-up voice, sticking his nose in the air. When he turned his gaze back down, he almost choked on his own saliva upon seeing the tiny smile gracing the other's face as he watched him. It was  _adorable_ , to say the least. Jin was smitten and was about ready to have this kid listed as his own son, for goodness sake, species be damned.

Snapping out of his temporary daze, Jin reached for the body soap and began working it over the other hybrid's limbs when Namjoon knocked softly on the door before entering straight away. Jin had been holding the younger's arm up and scrubbing his elbow when he felt his entire body go rigid once again- the typical position he would assume whenever Namjoon was around. His eyes were wide and he began shivering again.

Namjoon awkwardly raised up two fluffy towels in one hand and some clothes in the other. "Um, I just brought... uh... yeah, and dinner is ready, whenever you're done. I'll make sure the other's don't eat it all."

"Thanks," Jin commented dismissively. Namjoon took the hint and left the items on the sink counter and exited the room quickly. It took a moment of just feeling Jin continue to rub soap onto his dirty skin for him to calm down again, but eventually, the younger was able to stop his body from trembling and relax his muscles. Jin didn't think it was necessary for him to question him about it just yet, so he simply finished cleaning the other up slowly. When he got to his chest, he was extra gentle around the cut in his skin. 

"Does it hurt?" he asked quietly.

The other nodded lightly. "I think it's better than my back, though. I shouldn't complain."

Jin furrowed his brows and one of his ears twitched lightly as he helped the younger sit up a bit more so he could reach his back with the soapy rag. He had to bite his lip upon seeing the bruises- he almost forgot the real colour of his skin as he witnessed different shades of browns and purples- and the scrapes covering most of the surface of his back; it looked like he'd been skidding across pavement.

He didn't notice the other had been gripping his bicep until that grip tightened when Jin began running the rag softly, gently, down to clean out the shallow cuts while avoiding putting pressure on anything. He couldn't avoid causing any pain though, obvious by the panting and the small whimper. Jin whispered out a tiny apology before finishing up and rinsing the boy entirely off.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he unplugged the drain and watched the water slowly trail out of the bathtub.

The other didn't answer, but continued to stare at him. Jin grinned slightly. "We have meat, would you like some before you sleep?"

The younger's eyes grew comically large. "Y-You would let me... you...  _meat_?" was all he was able to stutter.

Jin chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. Come on, let's get you out of here and dressed nice and cozy, yeah?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! So, next chapter will be from Jimin's POV (at least as much as it can be in third person) to clear up some confusion. I know things don't make a lot of sense right now, but it'll be covered in the next chapter, if not later in the story.  
> As always, thank you and don't be afraid to leave me a comment :)


	3. Misperception

The hybrid was confused. He was lost and confused and honestly afraid.

He thought it was over, that he'd never have to fight again. It wasn't uncommon that he'd be found by another human after his last master kicked him out for making him lose too much money, but this one seemed different. This one didn't mention a thing about making him fight. He even had a cat hybrid (which wasn't necessarily unheard of, but he'd never experienced it himself). He liked the cat. The cat didn't know who he was or what he did- so it seemed. The cat probably didn't attend matches with his master, and though he was tall, he was so soft and he felt no threat from him.

He's never had a companion like that before- someone he could genuinely speak to. He never got attatched to the other hybrids his masters owned because chances are, he'd end up having to hurt them one day. But cats don't fight, and Jin was kind to him, so he was already a bit hopeful that he wouldn't be quite so alone anymore.

However, he feared for the moment that his new master would sit him down and give him the timeline- how long it would take to get him better, when he will resume training, and maybe he's even figured out when his next fight will be. He will be given a new name, a new cot, and he always hated having to get accustomed to each master's preferences. His most recent one was the most strict, but he didn't want to assume that his new one would be better because he didn't want to get his hopes up.

So he let Jin dry him off, dress him in sweatpants and a sweater, and move him back to the bedroom he was in earlier. The room was honestly nicer than anything he'd ever seen, and he wondering if it was Jin's room. At first, he assumed it was his master's room, but he'd never been allowed in his master's room before. He wondered if he knew that Jin was being kind to him and sneaking him food. He didn't want his new friend to get in trouble, but he couldn't deny how wonderful it felt to have the fur of his tail gently dried and fluffed with a towel as he rested on a comfortable bed eating hot food. The fabric of his temporary clothing felt nice on his beaten skin and the exhaustion and pain finally set in.

He had just begun drifing off, almost falling face-first into his plate of food, when the bedroom door opened once again and Master stepped inside. Panicking that he would witness him eating something we wasn't expressly offered by Master himself, he pushed the plate away, causing it to clatter on the floor, food wasted. Immediately regretting that split-second decision, his ears dropped in fear. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. 

At first, he'd tried everything he could to convince this man that he wasn't worth his time, and now, he was incredibly embarrassed he'd shown that side of himself to his master. Now, he knew it was hopeless to have him be released so that he may die in peace, so he resumed his fearful and respectful attitude masters expect from their dogs.

He wanted to apologize for eating the food, and for wasting the food. However, he knew attempting to justify your own disobedient actions were looked down upon, so his simply dropped his head and prepared for his punishment. Usually, masters would go a bit easy on dogs they've just claimed, because they wouldn't be rejected by their previous one had they not been deemed not worth the effort after being 'irreversibly' injured in a fight. They were usually kind during recovery before cracking down as soon as they began training again. But he didn't want to take any chances.

The man looked surprised at the reaction, and moved over to clean up the mess. Jin leaned closer and assured him he's done nothing wrong.

"I just came to get those wounds taken care of..." he commented as the hybrid on the bed became aware of the first-aid kit in his hand. The man simply picked up as much of the food as he could, returning it to the plate, and moving it away so he could attend to him. "Are you still hungry? Did you want more? We have plenty."

The hybrid could only stare at the man. He wasn't understanding the words all that well.

"I think he's tired, Namjoon," Jin spoke from beside him. "Maybe just hurry up and let him sleep..."

Namjoon, as the hybrid recalled hearing Jin call him that earlier as well, nodded his head and pulled up a chair beside the bed. The way he obeyed Jin's request so willingly shocked him. He had snuck the new recruit food from Master's own table, encouraged him to sleep on a real bed, was speaking out of turn,  _and_ giving orders to his master- all of which were grounds for a harsh beating- but Namjoon only went straight to work patching him up.

He was too tired to dwell on all of this new information, and the situation was all to confusing and overwhelming to him- he'd never experienced anything quite like this before. So despite the stinging of his cuts when Namjoon was cleaning them out before bandaging them up, he bit his lip and stayed silent, allowing him to do as he wished so that he may get some much needed rest.

Soon enough, both of them left the room, turned the light off, and Jin whispered to get some sleep before closing the door. There was so much the hybrid had to think about, but instead, fatigue outweighed the stress and he found himself drifting off surprisingly peacefully in no time.

Meanwhile, Namjoon was dragging Jin towards the living room.

"Jin, he needs to go to the hospital."

"Namjoon!"

"No! Listen to me, Jin. I can take care of those cuts, but what if the bruises did something deeper? He needs to be checked out. Besides, he's too violent to keep here. You saw how he was earlier, what's going to happen when he gets better and has more mobility? He's mean, Jin, and I don't want you around that."

"He's not  _mean_ , Namjoon, he's hurt! I understand that you need to take him to the hospital for his own safety, but don't worry about mine. He likes me, he was talking to me, he feels safe around me. I will take him to the emergency room tomorrow while you're doing your internship, and I'm getting them to contact the police. I think he was abused."

Namjoon sighed. "Jin, he was alone outdoors in the city, anything could have happened to him. Don't just jump right to conclusions, because making an accusation like that is dangerous."

"It's not just because of the injuries, Namjoon," Jin pleaded, needing his owner to understand the severity of the younger hybrid's mental state. "He said things to me while he was in the bath that made me think otherwise. He referred to his previous owners as 'master.' He'd never had a bath before, just said that his 'master' made him stand under a spray of cold water, he doesn't have a proper name, and he's afraid of you- of humans. That's not just a baseless accusation and you know it."

Namjoon grimaced, glancing around to make sure the rest of their group hadn't heard their quiet conversation and were still eating happily in the kitchen. Confirming that their conversation was still private, he turned back to Jin and placed his hands on his shoulders. "You do whatever you want, okay? You take him to the hospital, talk to the police, whatever. But he's not coming back here afterwards. Got it?"

Jin huffed, agreeing, but already thinking of ways to bypass that one minor detail of Namjoon not allowing the hybrid to come back and stay here. Jin didn't know exactly what his past was, but he knew it was something that would be more difficult to come to terms with living as a shelter animal. Jin didn't enter that life with personal demons and it was already a bleak existance.

This kid was different, though. The staff at those places don't know how to handle someone who is afraid and takes it out on them. They will be like Namjoon, and just assume that he's a bad kid. They won't treat him the way that he needs to be treated to recover from whatever's happened to him. It will decrease his chances of adoption and he'll be stuck living that life forever, which is something Jin wouldn't wish upon his greatest enemies.

Jin didn't know what he was doing either, but at least he had gained the younger's trust and had the patience to deal with him (apparently years of babysitting Tae and Kookie had paid off after all).

"I'll some blankets from Hoseok's room," Namjoon said, sounding exhausted. "We'll sleep out here in the living room tonight. Now go get something to eat."

Jin nodded slowly, thinking of ways to warm Namjoon up to the idea of keeping a mentally unstable victim of animal abuse in their already busy household... Maybe he should start by wording it differently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading~ sorry this chapter is pretty short.
> 
> I know I'm updating very frequently right now, but don't expect it to continue quite this fast. I've gotten most of the beginning mapped out so it'll be moving quickly for now, but as soon as work picks up, I'll be busier and it'll take a bit longer to get each chapter up.
> 
> Thanks for being patient and understanding:)
> 
> I really really really appreciate the comments guys omg haha


	4. Falling Out

The next morning, Namjoon woke Jin up at the same time he did so that he could take the other to the hospital with him on his way to his internship. Jin woke up easily, tossing the blanket off of him and onto the floor as he stood and stretched languidly.

Namjoon had already gone to their bedroom to get some clothes, and Jin followed behind, slipping inside to check on their guest. He saw the young hybrid still sound asleep curled up under the huge comforter making him look so small, and Jin really didn't have the heart to wake him up. 

"Namjoonie," he whispered. Said man poked his head out of the closet and raised an eyebrow in question. "I don't want to wake him up, he looks tired. Will you carry him to the car?"

Namjoon rolled his eyes. "Jin. He's going to freak out if he wakes up in the hospital when he fell asleep somewhere completely different. Just wake him up."

Jin grimaced but understood, and after dressing himself, he slowly made his way over to the side of the bed that the kid was resting on. "Psst.. Hey..." he whispered, gently placing his hand on the other's shoulder. "Hey, it's time to wake up."

Slowly, the hybrid roused from his deep slumber, blinking up at Jin cutely. "Hm?" he hummed, gaining his bearings a bit. 

"We have to go somewhere, okay? It's time to wake up. Are you hungry?" Jin asked kindly.

Through a huge yawn, the other hybrid was only able to nod his head. Jin smiled. "I'll go see what we have, alright? I'll be back in a second. Meanwhile, Namjoon had already left to the restroom to finish getting ready, leaving the hybrid alone once again. 

He slowly sat up and looked around the room. His body felt heavy and everything seemed stuffy, not to mention the splitting headache. He had been waking up like this a lot in the past week or so, but it was heightened this morning, probably due to his day spent out in the cold in a poor condition. He didn't have too long to dwell on these thoughts, because it was only a couple minutes until Jin was coming back in the room with a bowl of food and a tall glass of water. 

To be honest, he felt more queasy than he did hungry, but he's learned to accept every meal that's offered because you don't know when you'll be getting your next. The water looked far more appealing at the moment, but he'd eat as much as he could anyway.

"Here, I made some porridge last night for you to have today," Jin said kindly, handing over the bowl with a spoon and setting the water on the side table.

The younger hybrid looked up into Jin's eyes sincerely with a look of admiration and appreciation. "Thank you..." he mumbled, not knowing how else to express his great amount of gratitude. This hybrid was being far too kind to him, and he wasn't even questioning if the older had any ulterior motives because he was just.. so genuine. 

As he begun to eat, Jin sat down on the foot of the bed. "Listen... Namjoon wants to take you to the hospital this morning."

The younger would have cocked his head in question had he not been so immersed in his breakfast- it seemed the taste of the porridge made him realize how hungry he truly was. "The what?" he managed between bites.

Jin eyes widened slightly, but covered it up with a small cough as he lowered his head. "It's... We're taking you to get checked out..." he began, worried that the kid would get freaked out since this would be his first time in a hospital. "It might seem scary when we get there, but I promise that everyone there is going to be working hard to get you feeling better."

The younger gulped and lowered the half-empty bowl down to his lap. "E-Everyone? How many... How many people will be..."

"I- I don't know, probably only a couple," Jin assured him. "It won't be bad, and I'm going to go with you." Jin wasn't sure how else he could mentally prepare the other for his first hospital visit, so he settled for making him feel as happy and comfortable as possible until they got there. He grabbed a hairbrush from the bathroom quickly, and then moved up to sit at the top of the bed by the pillows so he could brush through the knots in the younger's hair soothingly while he finished eating. He had moved down to brushing through the other's fluffy tail, when the spoon clinked against the bowl and the younger was twisting his head slightly to look at Jin.

The older understood the look, and grabbed the empty bowl from him and placed it on the bedside table, handing him the water, which he accepted gratefully. He resumed his task of brushing the puppy's tail as he downed the entire glass. "We'll leave when you're ready, okay?"

The other nodded and placed the empty glass back down where it was previously. 

There was a light knock at the door, and then Namjoon was poking his head inside the room. "Guys. I need to get going, I'm going to be late if we don't leave now."

Now, Jin knew just how important this internship was to Namjoon, but he had a hard time prioritizing that over this little hybrid's comfort and happiness. "We will be ready soon," he said without even glancing at his owner, hoping to make his displeasure obvious. He respected Namjoon greatly, but he didn't understand how someone could be so heartless to just toss this poor kid into a shelter and never look back. 

Namjoon sighed, knowing that Jin was being passive aggressive, and decided that there was nothing he could do but yell at him, which would still be pointless, so he simply made his way back to the living room to wait. He'd just have to explain to his supervisor what the situation was, and maybe he could get some leeway.

Back in the bedroom, the young hybrid was feeling a bit self-conscious. "We- we can go now if- if that's what Master wants..."

Jin sighed at the use of that one word again, but let it slip for now. Maybe Jin would get some answers today once some professionals checked him out. For now, though, "We'll go when you're ready, and not a moment sooner. Is there anything else you need?"

He shook his head slowly. "No.. 'm just tired."

Jin grinned at the cute yawn escaping the younger. "You can get some more rest when we get there, okay?"

He nodded this time, and allowed Jin to help him up onto his feet and maneuver him through the apartment to the living room to meet up with Namjoon. Jin sucked in a breath when he noticed that Namjoon was not alone. There, sitting on the sofa and flipping through television channels was none other than Jungkook. As soon as the youngest caught scent of the two approaching, he whipped his head around and watched them enter.

"Oh. So this is the one. Eating my food and sleeping in my house."

"Jungkook!" Jin scolded. "This is most certainly  _not_ your house, and there was plenty of food. You ate, didn't you?" he asked challengingly.

Jungkook scoffed. "I  _could have_ had seconds had a certain  _intruder_  not-"

"Stop!" Namjoon's loud voice sounded. "Jeon Jungkook, shut up and sit down. This is none of your business. Jin, we're leaving." 

Jin tightened his grasp on the other hybrid's waist and led him towards the door. He couldn't help but notice how he kept his head down the entire way to the front door and then all the way down to Namjoon's car. It wasn't until he had settled himself beside the younger in the backseat of the car did he bother speaking. "Don't mind him. He's just grumpy."

But the younger only nodded, but refused to lift his head. It continued that way for the whole drive, and though it was only 15 minutes, it felt like an hour to Jin. He pitied the kid, and spent the whole ride petting the other's hair. He wasn't used to doing the petting rather than getting petted, but he knew how much he liked it so he hoped it had the same calming effect on the other as it did for him.

When they arrived, Namjoon walked them inside the emergency room before he'd have to move on to his own branch. They waited behind only one other person in line while the younger hybrid's eyes were transfixed on the scene unfolding in front of him. There was so much to look at and take in that he was practically swaying on his feet, and he was thankful that Jin was already supporting much of his weight, because he was feeling a bit dizzy all of a sudden.

The older picked up on this and rubbed his side softly to bring him out of his daze right in time for them to move up to the desk. Namjoon began relaying the information to the one of the employees behind the desk and both hybrids listened carefully.

"Um, hi, good morning. I- uh.. Well, I found this stray hybrid dog last night and he seems pretty beat up. I cleaned the cuts, but I think there's more to it, and..." he trailed off, hoping that was good enough of an explanation. He wasn't sure what more there was to say, but thankfully the woman simply smiled and nodded her head.

"Alright. We'll take care of him. Thank you for taking him in," she said, moving over to their store of reusable wheelchairs and she and Jin helped the younger into it. "Now, since he's a stray, we won't need you to fill out any paperwork, but it would be great if you could stick around for a bit to answer any questions the doctor may have about his condition."

"Ah, actually, I really have to get to work, but Jin here is going to stay for a while," Namjoon answered, gesturing to his own hybrid. He turned to him for a moment to pet the hair between Jin's fluffy ears. "I'm sorry I've been a bit stressed. Call me when you're done and we can meet up so Yoongi or Hoseok can come pick you up, okay?" 

Jin nodded, leaning into his owner's touch slightly. As disappointed as he was with the man right now, he wasn't necessarily mad at him. And besides, Jin was never the kind to turn up affection.

When the nurse began wheeling the younger hybrid away, Jin pulled away and followed after them, leaving Namjoon to get to work. The nurse led them to a private room nearby where she set the younger up on an examination bed. Jin picked up on the fear coming off of the other in waves once again, so he immediately made his way to the bedside to help him lay down properly. "Hey, it's okay. There's nothing to be afraid of."

It didn't seem to calm the other down though, and Jin was trying everything he could, petting behind the other's ears, telling him how well he was doing...

But the moment the nurse pulled out a needle, the younger couldn't take it. The nurse was explaining how she only needed to take some blood, but he was having none of it. He had managed to huddle himself up on the bed as far away from the nurse as he could possibly be.

The woman was being cautious, not coming too close, and even dropped the hand with the needle in it out of his line of sight. "Hey, I'm going to need to see your arm, can you show me?" she asked kindly. The other shook his head vehemently. She sighed, but continued to negotiate with him for another couple minutes until she became fed up and reached out for his arm. 

The hybrid's reaction was immediate, yanking his arms out of reach and kicking his feet out in her direction while a feral growl ripped its way through his throat. He was confused and frightened. This woman was not his master, how could she tell him what to do right now? His good foot made solid contact with her stomach, and she was stumbling backwards before tripping over herself and ending up on the floor.

Jin froze where he was standing, not sure if he should reach back out towards the hybrid or not. Before he could make a single move, however, the nurse had pressed some button and two more were entering, shocked upon seeing their colleague on the floor. The two new nurses approached the bed while the first tried to get a grasp on the situation again, and Jin finally snapped back to his senses. "Stop, please, he's scared!"

"Sir, I assure you it's alright. We won't hurt him. Could you please step in the hall for a moment?" one of the men spoke.

"No, I want to stay with him, please, I-"

"Sir, I'm going to ask you one more time to please vacate the room."

Jin was powerless against the rules, and could only watch on helplessly as the two seized the younger and injected him with a sedative, all while he was yelling and kicking his legs. Jin bit his lip and closed the door behind him, sitting down against the wall opposite the room. A moment later, the first nurse came out slowly, still holding onto her stomach, which had Jin confused. The poor kid was practically bedridden from injury, how could his kick have been  _that_ strong?

For the brief moment that the door was open as she exited the room, Jin could smell the other hybrid's continued fear, and it took everything in his body to not follow his nurturing instinct and go to comfort him. He didn't want to get himself in trouble and kicked out of the hospital, after all.

"Um... sir?" she gestured to him.

"Uh, Jin. My name is Jin."

"Yes, well, Jin, would you mind giving me some more information?" she asked, leading him over to a bench and taking a pen off of the clipboard to prepare to fill out some forms.

Jin followed her and sat down beside her, folding his tail politely over his own lap even though his hands were trembling with the sadness he felt for the kid frightened and alone without him.

"Can you tell me his condition when he was found?"

Jin nodded and played around with his tail absentmindedly, running his fingers through the soft fur. "Um.. It was the evening, and it was snowing; we found him in an alley. He was pretty stand-offish at first but I got him to come home with us so my owner could check up on him, and he has bruises all over his body. He had a pretty big cut on his chest all the way down to his stomach, and his back is all scraped up too. The bruises are worse there... Um... He seemed to have problems with his left side, you know, his leg and arm. Oh, and I saw some blood on his head." Jin was too caught up in his rambling to notice how the woman was struggling to keep up as she wrote all of this information down. "And please, ma'am, please be careful with him. I promise he's not just being mean or aggressive. He's frightened, and I think that he came from an abusive home. I want to contact animal control."

It was quiet for a few moments as the nurse finished up writing down the information she just received before she responded. "And why do you believe that?" she asked, looking for his evidence.

"Well... You saw how hurt he is... And he kept referring to previous owners as 'master' and is unfamiliar with many commonplace concepts. He eats as though he's been starved, and he's afraid of humans."

"Very well," she nodded. "We will contact the proper authorities to come talk to him. Thank you for telling me; you are free to go."

Jin stuttered. "Um.. Can I... Can I stay?"

The nurse smiled. "Of course you may. You're welcome to go back in his room now if you wish. The doctor should be by in a minute to check up on him while he's sedated so he won't cause anyone any injury."

Jin nodded, but couldn't even manage a polite smile back as he stood and reentered the hospital room to see the two other nurses still holding the young hybrid's body down to the bed as he struggled weakly. Jin's heart broke at the sight, and he approached quickly. "Please, let him go, let me calm him down. You're scaring him, please!" he begged, gripping one of the nurses' arms in both of his hands. The shared a look before one released his hold.

The hybrid's first reaction was to use his now-free limbs to attack the other woman holding his other side down, but Jin put himself between and brought his hand out to the other's face. "Hey... Hey, calm down. It's just me, just Jin. Look at me, can you look at me?"

As soon as he focused his blurry eyes on the older hybrid, his body went rigid, and the other nurse backed away slowly until they were both out of the way.

"Ji- Jin, they- stop please stop make it st-"

"Shhh," Jin hushed him. "Shh, you're fine. We're okay."

The younger's breathing was heavy, but he was no longer yelling or crying out. Now, however, his eyes watered up as if he were about to start crying. Jin wouldn't be able to stand the sight, so he moved even closer, slipping his hand up from the hybrid's face into his smooth hair. The kid liked being pet, he realized, as it took only moments for him to get ahold of himself slightly. His eyes began drooping soon after, and Jin was baffled by the effectiveness of whatever they used to put him to sleep. 

Jin stayed by the sleeping hybrid's side even after the nurses left. He sat on the edge of the bed until the doctor arrived to assess him. It was only then that Jin excused himself to go find Namjoon.

After a brief phonecall, the two decided to meet at the cafeteria. When Jin finally found his way there, he spotted Namjoon waiting at a small corner table with a coffee in hand. Jin approached and sat in the other available chair in front of his owner.

"Hi, how's the stray doing?"

Jin frowned at the choice of words, but answered nonetheless. "They had to sedate him," he mumbled, crossing his arms and slumping back against the back of the chair.

Namjoon sighed. "Well, I've already texted Hoseok, and he's coming to get you now."

"No, Namjoon I want to stay," Jin protested.

"Jin-" Namjoon began, running a hand over his face in a stressed fashion. "I know you're just trying to be a good person, but this is out of our hands. They will deal with him accordingly and he'll be better in no time and find a loving family to take him in. I promise. Just go home."

"Namjoon, I appreciate what you've done already, but I like him and he feels safe around me. He's so scared, Namjoon, and I'm not leaving him alone in a place that feels threatening to him."

Namjoon closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself so he wouldn't get angry at his pet. "Jin. You said it yourself. They had to  _sedate_ him. I don't want you to be around him; he's dangerous, okay? And that's that. No more questions."

"No, but-"

"No buts, Jin! I've made my decision." Namjoon looked angry now, and Jin's ears were flattening against his head. He hated it when his owner got angry with him, which was very rare, but this was one fight Jin would not back down from.

"You don't understand! He needs me!" Jin protested, louder than he'd intented, gaining a bit of unwanted attention from the other people around them in the cafeteria.

"Jin, you can't fix everyone you come across. With some, you're just going to do all you can and then pass that job off to someone who does it for a living."

"I haven't done all I can yet, Namjoon. There's no one else here that he trusts, and if you think that I'm just going to leave him like this, then you obviously don't know me at all," he said with a vile tone to his voice, practically spitting out the last phrase. He felt a little bad for getting snippy with his owner, but not bad enough to sway his opinions.

Namjoon took a moment too long to respond, because Jin was already standing and stalking away. Namjoon huffed and got up to follow him. Quickening his pace to catch up, he reached out and grabbed Jin by the wrist, spinning him around to face him. "Jin, I know what you're doing here. You're going to get attatched and you're going to want to keep him. But we can't do that, okay? I need you to understand this right now, that we are not taking him home with us."

"Why not?" Jin demanded, tears building up behind his eyes. How could Namjoon be so insensitive?

"We don't have anyone to take care of him! I have you, Yoongi has Jungkook, and Hoseok has Tae."

"I can take care of him-"

"You can't be his owner, Jin, you are not a human."

"Other people have more than one hybrid!"

Namjoon tightened his grip on Jin's wrist. " _Other people_ aren't going through the hours of medical school.  _Other people_ can afford those kinds of expenses, Jin!  _Other people_ don't have to work their asses off to provide for just one, okay? I'm not  _other people_  Jin, and this isn't happening!"

Namjoon was yelling at that point, leaving Jin to drop his head so that his hair would cover the tears making their way down his cheeks. Namjoon instantly felt a bit guilty, but he stood by his words. He didn't want Jin to cry, but he had to understand the vast impossibility of what he wanted.

"Jin, I try to give you everything you want. I try so damn hard, okay? But I just can't give you this."

Jin was sniffling but refused to look back up at Namjoon. He stood still in his place, his wrist still tightly in his owner's grip. He brought his other hand up to wipe his nose on his sleeve, tears turning into quiet sobs. He didn't like when Namjoon yelled at him, but he just wanted so badly to make his new friend's life happy again after whatever made him so afraid. Why couldn't Namjoon understand?

A few moments of silence passed before the two heard a quiet voice.

"Guys? Namjoon? Jin? Is everything okay?"

Namjoon looked up to see Hosoek approaching the pair with a concerned look on his face. "Everything is fine, Hoseok. Please just take Jin home." He released his hold on the hybrid's wrist, causing the arm to fall limply against the other's side.

Hoseok nodded slowly, wrapping an arm around Jin's shoulders and shooting Namjoon a questioning look. He could only shake his head in response, heading back to the table to grab his coffee and get back to work.

Meanwhile, Hoseok was leading the crying hybrid away from the cafeteria. Once he deemed it far enough away, he sat Jin down on a bench. He pet the hybrid's hair softly, scratching lightly behind his ears while encouraging him to look up at him.

Eventually, Jin drew his gaze up to Hoseok's face while wiping the tears off of his own face with his fingers.

"Hey... What's wrong?" Hoseok asked kindly, continuing to pet the other.

Jin sniffled a few times. "I just... I just- he's so scared without me, I can't leave him alone," he stuttered, the sentence starting the waterworks back up.

Hoseok didn't need to ask to know that Jin was talking about the stray hybrid he found yesterday. Namjoon had filled him in a bit when he had texted him asking him to pick Jin up from the hospital.

"Jin..." he called softly, and the hybrid made eye contact with him again. "Can I meet him?" he asked with a smile. "We don't have to tell Namjoon."

Jin smiled, relieved that Hoseok was at least indulging him and not completely shutting him down like Namjoon had. He nodded, getting up excitedly and choking down the last of his sobs as he dragged a grinning Hoseok back to the wing where the other hybrid was being kept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for typos, once again, I haven't edited any of the chapters yet, so I know there are some errors. Please overlook those for now :3  
> Still, thanks for reading~ Leave a comment, tell me what you think!


	5. Truth

When they reached the hospital room they were looking for, Jin paused for a moment to wipe away the last of his drying tears. He didn't think the other hybrid would be awake yet, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Knocking very quietly on the door before entering, they were met with the sight of the doctor standing off to the side filling something out on a clipboard as a nurse adjusted the blanket to be over the hybrid on the bed. Jin cleared his throat quietly.

"Oh. Hello. Were you the one to bring him in?" the doctor asked kindly.

Jin nodded his head and took a few more steps into the room. "Is he okay?"

The doctor smiled. "He will be fine. Just a sprained ankle, a dislocated shoulder, and a couple cracked ribs. We changed out his bandages, and the rest is nothing we can't take care of. We've got blood tests running right now just in case, but he should make a nice recovery."

Jin's eyes trailed over the hybrid's form, seeing one of his arms in a sling and the other with a heart rate monitor over his finger. He was calmed slightly hearing the normal heartbeat. "When will he... wake up?"

"Should be within the hour. You're welcome to stay if you like. If you do stay, would you mind pressing this button when he does wake?" he asked, gesturing to a button right next to the bed. Jin and Hoseok nodded with soft smiles. "Wonderful. There are some people that need to speak to him when he's awake. I'll be going now, but don't hesitate to press the button if something goes wrong."

"Thank you, doctor," Jin commended as the man and the nurse left.

"So this is him?" Hoseok commented, moving over to sit by the bed. Jin took the other plastic chair in the room and brought it over by the bed as well and sat next to Hoseok. "He's cute," the human commented. "Look at those ears," he mused.

Jin smiled, happy to hear Hoseok voicing out his own initial thoughts. Maybe he could get Hoseok on board, and he could have someone on his side. "He's a german shepherd," Jin explained.

Hoseok smiled. "That's so cool. Purebred??" At Jin's nod, Hoseok's eyes went a bit wide. "Wow. He'd go for a fortune. I don't even know what breed Tae is, he's a mix of too many," he commented with a small chuckle.

"I think they'd get along," Jin thought out loud. "Him and Tae. And not just because Tae tries to be friends with everybody. I think he could use a friend like Taehyung. They're the same age, too."

"Yeah? That's cute, I'd love to see how Taehyung would react to someone he couldn't wrestle with," Hoseok laughed, and Jin even grinned at the thought. Taehyung probably wouldn't know what to do with himself. He might just sit there completely still staring at him and let his tail wag like crazy for hours. The image had Jin laughing in earnest as well after a moment, and Hoseok reached his hand up absentmindedly to pet the cat hybrid. He was pleased that he was able to cheer the other up a bit.

"Thanks Hoseokkie. I really like him."

Hoseok grinned sadly. "I'll talk to Namjoon and Yoongi later. I can't promise anything, but I think you're doing something good here. I think Tae would like to have another canine friend around, anyway. I'll see what I can do."

Jin felt hope swell in his chest once again.

It wasn't for another half hour that the figure resting on the bed began stirring again. Jin quickly released his hold on the younger's hand (that he hadn't been aware of until just now anyway) so he didn't frighten the kid. He let him come to his senses a bit, blinking his eyes open and glancing around the room. He brought his good arm up to feel around his chest, and his heart rate quickened just the slightest bit until he met eyes with Jin.

"Jin.... What's going on?"

He sounded so helpless, Jin could have started crying again."It's okay, I promise. The doctor came in to check up on you so you can get better faster."

Hoseok reached to press the button next to the bed, but Jin gently placed his hand over the human's and lowered it away from the button. "Give him a minute," Jin whispered before turning his attention back to the hybrid.

"Where are my clothes?" he whimpered out.

Jin took notice of his hospital gown and how the sweater and sweatpants that he'd lent the younger were now folded neatly on the little table off to the side of the room. "They had to take them off so they could see how you were hurt. But it's okay now, it's over."

The hybrid huffed heavily and bit his lip hard. He just didn't know what was going on, he'd never seen a place quite like this before. Never had someone strip him in his sleep. Never been in a room quite so clean. Everything here was foreign to him, and he didn't have a master present to tell him what to do. "W-Where is.. is Master?"

Jin sighed and ignored the look Hoseok was sending him. "Listen, Namjoon isn't your master."

The younger hybrid looked horrified. "He doesn't want me anymore?" He didn't know why that thought upset him so much. He's spent his first night begging to be released to die in the wild, and now that he was being released, he didn't want it anymore. He'd lose Jin, and he'd be left in this foreign place all by himself to deal with the scary people with needles. Before he knew it, his eyes had begun to water. He was angry at himself; he'd never been this emotional before, but after less than one day in the presence of someone he considered a friend, he realized that he was losing all that he had. 

He'd changed ownership before. Many times, actually. Each time, he'd have to learn a new daily schedule and mannerisms that his new master required of him, but this was different. Here, there was no master and there was no security. It's dumb to say that he had security before when his life was on the line every single day and he feared disappointing his master to the point that he'd be kicked out and picked up by a new one, but that was a constant. At night, he would sleep in a small room with a couple of other cots, all occupied by other hybrids. Most days, his master would put them through either obedience training or physical training, depending on how his master was feeling.

A couple times a week, he was taken down to the district late at night, it was dark and the only lights they had were lanterns and torches. There were only four locations he knew of where he had to fight. All of them had metal cages he'd be thrust into, and he'd block out the noise of men yelling and laughing, slamming themselves against the outside of the cage, making him feel claustrophobic, taunting him and sometimes giving encouragement (depending on who they put their money on). He'd follow his master's orders. He never looked the other hybrids in the eyes, it only made it personal. And it wasn't personal, it was just life.

If he won, he'd be expected to act proud, to strut through the crowd back to his master and stand by him as he collected his winnings for the night. He was never proud.

If he lost, he'd be dragged back to his master's car, tossed in the backseat, and forced to wait the short drive home for his beating, wishing that it took longer to get back and forth so he could prolong it for as long as possible.

The vivid memories only served to show that no matter how uncertain things were, he had a  _routine_. And that routine was just completely thrown off and he was now swimming in uncharted territory. And it was terrifying.

"Hey there," Jin's voice broke through. "It's not that he doesn't want you.. It's just..." He had a hard time trying to explain this to the kid who didn't even know what proper ownership was.

Hoseok cleared his throat, and the boy on the bed flinched slightly. He truly hadn't noticed the presence of the human. His sense of smell had been thrown off-kilter for the past couple of weeks, and he hadn't learned to rely on his other senses quite yet. 

"Listen, no matter what happens today, I can promise you that Jin here won't let you do it alone. He likes you a lot, and Jin is very dedicated when he gets his mind set to something."

The young hybrid sniffled, staring at Hoseok with something akin to hope. "R-Really?" he stuttered, shifting his gaze over to Jin again. The older nodded his head fervently. "Of course. I wouldn't leave you alone here."

"Will your master not be mad at you?"

"You don't have to worry about me or Namjoon, okay?"

As soon as the younger seemed to understand slightly that Jin didn't have any intentions of going anywhere, he nodded softly and sniffled harder, hoping to stop any tears from falling. Jin glanced over at Hoseok, shooting him a thankful look before turning his attention back to the bed. "This is Hoseok. He lives with me, and he has a hybrid dog too."

The younger turned his attention back towards the human, mumbling a very small 'hi.' He didn't trust the human, but he looked friendly and Jin was comfortable with his presence. 

"Hey there kiddo. No need to be scared, I just wanted to say hello. Jin told me all about how nice and cute you were."

The one in question smiled softly again, and the sight never failed to make Jin's heart do flutters. He really was truly adorable. "So here's the thing," Jin began, not wanting to ruin the moment, but still keeping in mind what he was supposed to have done as soon as the hybrid awoke. "There are some people that need to talk to you about some pretty important things. I'll stay in here as long as they allow me to." He said this as he pressed his thumb into the button to call for the doctor.

The younger simply gulped and tried to calm his breathing. He waited patiently until three humans entered the room. One introduced himself as his overseeing doctor and the other two remained by the door. He followed instructions carefully. Breathing in when he was told to even though the instrument he was holding up to his chest was putting him on edge. 

The doctor must have sensed his apprehension either by his heightened heart rate or his trembling body, because he was quickly assuring him that everything was fine and that he wasn't going to hurt him. But he felt like a lab rat at the moment, held somewhere against his will and put through tests.

Once the doctor left though, the woman and the man who entered with him did not. They approached the bed slowly, which had his dying nerves come back in full force. 

Jin wasn't certain if physical contact would help or hurt the hybrid, but he reached out anyway, clasping his big hand over the other's smaller one, playing absentmindedly with the heart rate monitor clipped to his index finger.

"Hello there, we are from animal control," the woman introduced as she stood by the bed. Hoseok quickly stood and offered his seat, telling Jin he'd wait outside. He wanted to be there for the young hybrid, but he didn't think the presence of another unfamiliar person would necessarily be helping at this moment. The woman sat down and smiled at the boy on the bed, who was still eying her warily. "We just have a couple questions. Please try to be as honest as possible, I promise none of this information will be shared outside of our office."

The hybrid gulped again. What did she want to know? He glanced briefly at Jin, who could only offer an encouraging nod. He turned his gaze back to the woman in front of him.

"Wonderful. Can you tell me your name?"

Great. First question and he's already stumped. New masters never kept the name his old masters gave him, and he didn't even have a master right now, which means.. He didn't have a name. Instead of answering, he swallowed heavily and shook his head.

The woman's smile nearly faltered, but she regained her composure before it had even slipped. "How old are you?"

"19," he answered with a bit of confidence, immediately looking towards Jin for affirmation. Jin only smiled back at him. 

"And can you tell me why you're here today?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Jin brought me..." he answered, confused as to why that was a question.

The woman's smile grew just a bit as she looked at him fondly. "I heard that they found you in the streets in this condition. Can you tell me how you ended up there?"

He looked anywhere but at the woman. He wasn't sure if this question was okay to answer. He could tell that she was not going to be his new master, so can he share information about his previous master with an outsider? Jin, sensing his hesitation, tightened his grip on his shaking hand and prompted him to look up at him. He obeyed the silent order, sensing comfort in the older's eyes. When Jin nodded his head, signalling it was okay to answer, the younger let out a quiet breath.

"Master didn't want me."

The woman's smile did drop a bit this time. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "Is your owner the cause for your condition?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "What condition?"

"Your injuries. Were those inflicted by or in the presence of your owner?" the man spoke up for the first time. He was a little intimidating to the poor young hybrid, who shied away slightly.

"W-Wh... Of course, who else... who else would be allowed to... to.." He was stuttering in his apprehensiveness.

Jin swallowed hard, keeping himself from crying at the younger's words- or rather, the sense of normality it seemed to have in the other's mind. 

The woman only nodded, however. "Can you tell me the name of your owner?"

The young hybrid was quite distressed now, not understanding how any of these questions were relevant at all. What was this information needed for? Was she just curious? Why did he have to answer? How was this anybody's business but his own and his master's? His bottom lip began quivering, and he pulled it in between his teeth in hopes of stopping it. He hadn't realized he had tears running down his cheeks until Jin made a move to wipe them away.

He flinched away from the contact, biting into his lip harder. "What is this?" he demanded, clutching as tightly as he could onto Jin's hand- his only mental connection keeping him grounded right now.

"Sir, we're trying to help you," the man spoke.

"You seem to believe that abuse is a natural thing between a hybrid and their owner, but that's not a functional relationship," the woman further explained.

The hybrid couldn't wrap his mind around what she was saying. Of course it was functional. Sure, no one talked about it, but everyone knew it was going on. Right? Jin was tugging on his hand, demanding his attention, and he tried his best to give it.

"Namjoon is my owner. He is very good to me. Owners should treat their hybrids with love, pet them, give them food, and let them bathe properly. I don't think your owner was treating you right."

The younger still looked incredibly confused and overwhelmed at the information being thrown at him at once. His tears made it a bit hard to breath, and before he knew it, he was in the midst of a coughing fit that had him thinking that this was the end. The walls were closing in on him, he just knew it. 

Jin's free hand moved up to the younger's chest, rubbing softly. He wished he could pat the younger's back without causing him pain. Jin himself was feeling quite pained at the other hybrid's obvious discomfort with the situation, but there wasn't much he could do. He was going to have to learn this sooner or later.

"Hey..." Jin mumbled quietly when the coughing stopped and left the younger panting and gasping. "Hey, look here. It's okay, it's going to be okay. We want to show you what it's like having a good owner. Someone who loves you."

"I don't want to do this," he begged breathlessly. "Please send me back, I- I can't... I need Master."

"He was hurting you-" Jin tried to reason, but the younger wasn't taking it.

"Only when- only when I lost. He al-always told me good things when I- I won..." he hiccupped out around gasping breaths.

The two colleagues shared a grim look before turning back to the hybrids. "When you won what?"

Jin watched on helplessly as the kid sniffled uselessly. "When I won," he restated as if that should answer any questions. "When I won him money. I did good."

The woman closed her eyes for a moment. "Did your master force you into performing acts that you were not comfortable with?" she asked, trying to appeal to his thought process through her word choice.

The younger only sniffled harder. "W-What do you mean?"

"Were you encouraged to engage in combat with other hybrids against your will?" the man clarified.

The hybrid nodded, lowering his head. Why were they asking this? Why did Jin look so surprised? He wasn't a dog hybrid but he couldn't have been that clueless as to what's been going around. His friend Hoseok had a dog, right? There's no way he was that oblivious.

But Jin was. He had no idea what was going on, why the two professionals seemed to know exactly what they were asking. Those questions wouldn't have crossed his mind, but-

"We've been following a huge branch of hybrid dogfighting for years but haven't managed to get any solid leads," the woman explained to Jin. "We're going to need to know exactly where you found him."

Meanwhile, Jin couldn't find his words.  _Dogfighting_? With  _hybrids_? With  _this hybrid_? He couldn't process the words he was sure that he was hearing. There's no way that this precious kid was ruthlessly fighting other hybrids for money. There's no way anyone who has ever laid eyes on his face could have had such malicious thoughts about him.

But the truths were all there- the evidence and the confession. There were no doubts now. He whipped his head over to the boy on the bed who was looking up at him through his eyelashes though his head was hung low. He looked so ashamed that Jin could hardly process any emotion but sympathy at the moment.

"Oh..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is, out in the open.  
> (I know it's not a surprise to you, but it is to Jin, ok. So just pretend you're him and that this is a cliffhanger lol)  
> Once again, I apologize for errors that I haven't checked yet.  
> Keep commenting :D even if I don't comment back, I see them and I appreciate them! I'll try to respond this week ^_^  
> Thanks for reading~


	6. Assurance

Jin didn't leave the hospital room until he had provided all the necessary information to the animal control workers and then coaxed the other hybrid back to sleep with the promise that he'd return the next day.

"How'd it go?" Hoseok asked when Jin exited the room to join him on the bench in the hallway.

Jin only frowned. "Dogfighting. He was owned by dogfighters."

Hoseok sighed. "I know, they told me on their way out. Poor kid."

"You'll still talk to Yoongi and Namjoon about him, right?" Jin asked hopefully. "He was born into it, he's never had a real family before," he added for sympathy points. Hoseok smiled and pat Jin on the head. "I said I would. We'll talk later tonight. Are you ready to go now?"

* * *

 

The next time the young hybrid awoke in the hospital, it was to the sound of the door closing behind a nurse who had just entered. He immediately found himself wishing for Jin, but soon chastised himself for the childish thought. He'd lived through a lot without a single companion, and getting one has made him awfully soft. Any potential master would beat that out of him; it's better he harden himself first.

"Good evening," the nurse greeted. "How are you feeling?"

The hybrid didn't answer, only looked at her. To be fair, his throat was hurting a bit so he wasn't too keen on answering anyway.

The woman cleared her throat and approached the bed anyway. "Your doctor took a second look at your x-rays. I'm going to start you on an antibiotic, okay? He suspects pneumonia. It's nothing to be afriad of, just take this when it's given to you and you should be back to normal in no time."

She handed him a tiny little clear cup full of nasty-looking liquid that had him grimacing. Jin's words echoed in the back of his head, however. ' _I promise that everyone there is going to be working hard to get you feeling better.'_ He took a deep breath and accepted the medicine, drinking it diligently and hiding his disgusted face at the taste. If anyone were to ask him later how he felt about the proud smile he received in return from the nurse afterwards, he would deny his heart fluttering for all its' worth.

"Good boy," she grinned, patting the hair between his ears momentarily. He had to practically will his tail to stay still. "Now, I have someone here to see you. I hope they can help you come to terms with some things that happened this morning."

His brain was reeling, not quite sure who would be here to see him. Jin said he wouldn't be back until tomorrow...

And while he wasn't in the best condition, he knew that smell. He knew who entered without even having to look up. "Duke," he gasped, his head snapping up to see the pitbull hybrid enter.

He'd won that match by a fluke. The older was more experienced than him by far- a legend, even. Everyone knew who Duke was. He'd been dreading this match for months, his master had been training him to take on the reigning champion and when the moment finally came, he could hardly muster the courage to step into the cage. He'd expected to be killed in that cage; he'd heard of all the terrible things Duke pulled to win. No one knew why that match was any different.

After beating Duke, no one heard of him again. He assumed the other had been kicked out by his master for losing to someone so much younger and less experienced, and then died out in the cold.

All of this transpired about one year prior, and he still couldn't find it in himself to forget about Duke altogether.

"Hey kid," the older responded, stepping inside the hospital room followed by a human as the nurse stood off to the side. The closer he got to the bed, the faster the heart rate monitor beeped. What was he to expect? The guy disappeared for a whole year and now here he is, ready to take his revenge, right?

The nurse was right there to place a reassuring hand to his shoulder, but it only served to make him feel glued to his place.

"I'm not here to hurt you," the older said, standing still where he was and not taking a single step closer. "I'm just here to talk to you. I- I know exactly how you're feeling right now. You're... You're scared, aren't you? Confused and threatened?"

The younger couldn't help the whimper that escaped his throat. He wasn't prepared for this encounter.

"That's okay. I was there once. In that bed. I was found and brought in here, and I couldn't be more thankful for that now. I promise I won't hurt you. Will you let me come closer?"

Duke looked different. The hardened look on his face had softened out in the year away. He was wearing clean clothes, just like the kind Jin had given to him, except these fit him properly. His hair was groomed and he looked... happier. There was still that characteristic look of sadness in his eyes that the younger knew all too well, but it was vague. Faded.

The older took his silence as permission to approach, and sat himself in the chair beside the bed, being sure to leave plenty of space between the two. The mysterious human and the nurse hadn't moved a muscle, simply observing the staredown between the two hybrids.

"My name isn't Duke anymore. It hasn't been for almost a whole year. After I was abandoned, I had wandered around, injured and sick, when Jiyong found me." He gestured back to the human by the door, who was smiling kindly at the two. "I'm Youngbae now, and Jiyong is my owner. He showed me that there's more to life than what I grew up with."

The younger had yet to respond, still eyeing the older warily.

"I bet you have a lot of questions right now, don't you?" Youngbae asked. "I wouldn't blame you, it took a lot to convince me too. But... Not everyone is your enemy in the real world. There are people you really can trust out here. Fighting is... It's just some messed up people who breed hybrids into thinking that it's their life."

And out of all the replies in the world, "Why aren't you angry with me?" is what slipped out of the younger's mouth. It's not that he wanted Du-  _Youngbae-_ to be mad, but he was the reason he was kicked out by his master-

"I'm more thankful than anything," came the older's response. "I was sick and weak, it was bound to happen sooner or later. And I'm glad it was sooner, because I was found by Jiyong instead of another dogfighter. Don't you wonder what happens to those hybrids who disappear forever?"

"Don't they die?"

"Well, some do, yes. But the lucky ones- like you and me- we get found by good people. And we recover, and we learn about life outside of fighting. One day, you're going to get adopted by a nice human who lets you sleep in a real bed and wear whatever you want, and eat good food, and they will pet you all the time." At the small growing smile that the older's words were drawing out of the younger hybrid, he was spurred to continue. "You're going to make lots of friends once you see that you don't have to keep your guard up around other hybrids. No one will hurt you anymore."

The younger let his mind wander to Jin. Is that how it's supposed to be? 

The human by the door slowly made his way over as well, sitting beside Youngbae and resting his hand on his hybrid's shoulder. "We don't expect you to understand everything right now, but I hope that you can at least accept that you've been living a lie. You were basically brainwashed into thinking that life was nothing but fighting. But in reality, those humans are horrible people who don't deserve you or your loyalty. You deserve so much better than that. You'll see."

He couldn't help it, but he kept imagining what it would be like to stay where he stayed last night. If he lived with Jin. If every day was like that. If he lived  _like_ Jin- he could do what he wanted to do, call his owner by his real name, be pet whenever he wanted, never fear stepping out of line and getting hit... But what more could you do but train and fight? What was there to do? What does Jin do all day?

He wanted to let his mind wander more, but there's something that's been on his mind for many months now. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely, looking Youngbae right in the eyes. He truly felt bad for the look in the older's eyes at the end of that fight so long ago- but he's sure he looked exactly the same in his final fight that landed him here. 

"There's no reason to apologize. It's all behind us, I know it's nothing personal," the older hybrid assured. His owner pulled a scrap of paper and a pen out of his pocket and began scribbling on it. "I'm going to leave you my and Youngbae's phone numbers just in case you ever want to call. Don't feel weird about it. If you're ever feeling scared or even lonely, don't hesitate. Okay? You should keep this so that when someone wants to adopt you, I can talk to them and make them feel better about it too."

The young hybrid was left back in the hospital room with a renewed sense of hope.

* * *

 

That very same evening, Hoseok was keeping Yoongi and Namjoon behind after dinner. Jungkook had left to wash up, Taehyung had run off to finish his tv show, and for all Hoseok knew, Jin was probably eavesdropping on the humans' conversation in the kitchen.

"What's this about, Hoseok?" Namjoon asked. "It's been a long day."

"I know and I'm sorry, but it's about that hybrid that you found," Hoseok prefaced, choosing to ignore Namjoon's sigh in favor of continuing his appeal. "Listen, I know that this is something you've already mentally pushed away, but I think Jin is onto something. That kid's formed a serious attatchment to Jin."

"What does this have to do with me?" Yoongi asked when Hoseok paused.

Hoseok sighed. "This is your place too, and I'm seriously talking about keeping him. Namjoon, I know you don't want to because of financial reasons, but you keep forgetting that you've got us two. I don't know about Yoongi-hyung, but I'm more than willing to pitch in on all expenses."

"Why are you this insistent?" Namjoon questioned. "You don't even know the thing."

"I know he's not a 'thing.' Jin introduced us this morning, and he's cute, Namjoon. He's not mean or scary like you said, he's just confused and scared, but that's something that will get better with time in a loving home. I talked to the doctor about it briefly."

"So what's his deal?" Namjoon asked curiously.

Hoseok grimaced, not sure how the news will fare with people who are already skeptical. "He was bred by dogfighters. Never introduced to the real world until now. And before you say what I know you're thinking,  _no_  he doesn't attack everything that moves. He's not violent, just well-trained."

It was quiet for a minute, no one knowing quite what to say. It was obvious it was hard for Namjoon, but Hoseok truly believed this was something feasible. 

"Hoseok, I get that you pity him, but that kind of damaged hybrid is going to need a lot of time and money to fix. All three of us are full-time students with our own pets already. No one's going to be there with him during the day, and even if we were to dedicate all of our free time to him, who's to say Jungkook or Tae aren't going to feel neglected?"

"But Namjoon, that's the thing, I really think some time with other hybrids will do him good during the day. Tae will love it, we already know Jin's on board, and lord knows Jungkook needs a lesson on tolerance. None of them have any problem telling us if they feel like we're ignoring them. This won't be any different."

"I'm in," Yoongi commented in his typical quiet yet decisive manner, casually swirling ice cubes around in his glass of water. 

Namjoon whipped his head around. "Seriously, hyung? You haven't even seen him yet!"

"I've heard enough about him from Jin today ever since he got home from the hospital to know that that cat has seriously formed some kind of bond with him. And if you think about it, this kid has never had that kind of relationship before. We can't just take that away from him. Besides, I completely agree with Hoseok about Jungkook. He's been a brat."

Neither of the two were used to hearing this much from Yoongi at once. He was like their conscience. The truth-sayer. The only time he inserted himself into serious discussions was to stop an argument or to make the final decision. Up to date, they've usually respected his opinions when he speaks them.

Namjoon was silently looking between Hoseok and Yoongi, trying to stand his ground, but his platform was slipping.

"And... I was given this phone number. The doctor asked if I was interested in adoption, and I told him I might be. He gave me this number; it belongs to a guy named Kwon Jiyong. He owns a hybrid that was rescued from dogfighting a year ago and now they're a part of a program with animal control centered around past victims of hybrid dogfighting, you know, getting them rehabilitated and settled into homes. They talk to the hybrids and the potential owners to discuss all kinds of concerns and problems that may arise. I think it'd be at least worth talking to him about. We don't have to come to any kind of conclusion, but maybe we could just talk to the guy. He'll probably be able to clear a lot of stuff up. Sound fair?"

Namjoon sighed and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine. We'll call him tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, I know it's pretty short, but things are looking up, yeah? :)


	7. Informed

The next morning, Jin rode with Namjoon to the hospital again. He spent the whole ride trying not to hug Namjoon in thanks for considering adopting the stray, but he had to remind himself to be mature about this because it was still early enough for him to change his mind.

As soon as the car was parked, Jin made a beeline to the stray hybrid's hospital room, noticing that Namjoon was following behind him instead of heading off in his own direction. 

"Namjoonie, where are you going?" Jin asked, stopping in the middle of the hallway.

"I'm meeting the kid."

"You already met him, you took care of him before," Jin responded, confused.

Namjoon smiled and ruffled the hair between Jin's ears. "That doesn't count, I wasn't giving him any credit. I want to get to know him. Lead the way." He was pleased to see a huge grin break out across Jin's face; he knew he'd appreciate hearing that Namjoon was making an effort.

Jin was pleased at the sight when he opened the door to the other hybrid's hospital room. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw the younger's face light up. The bed was laid flat but he was sitting cross-legged in the middle with a tray of food in front of him, the thumping noise betraying him to alert Jin that his tail was wagging against the bed. "Jin!"

The older smiled amicably and moved further inside, allowing room for Namjoon to enter as well. As soon as it had started, the young hybrid's tail stilled and his ears turned downwards ever so slightly, the smile slipping from his face. "Oh. Hi, mister."

He himself didn't know why he was disappointed at the human's presence. Maybe it was the thought from yesterday, that he didn't want him. It was a feeling of rejection he was all too familiar with, but with all of the information he received yesterday, he had started thinking that it wasn't the fact that he was injured and therefore less skilled than other possible hybrids. Namjoon wasn't looking for a hybrid who could fight, so there must have been something else wrong with him to make him undesireable. He probably wanted someone more like Jin. Someone who was knowledgeable and kind. Someone who knows how to use a bath.

"Good morning," Jin spoke, trying to work past the change in mood. "How did you sleep?"

"Um.. Good," he mumbled, setting down the spoon he was holding. He was feeling a bit too weird to eat right now.

Jin wanted to smother the poor thing in kisses, reassure him that they're going to take him home, but he doesn't want to get the other's hopes up in case Namjoon doesn't decide to adopt him. It might break his heart, so he will have to refrain from even hinting at it. Instead, he came inside and dragged one of the plastic chairs back up to the bedside.

"How are you feeling today? Any better?" he asked kindly.

But the younger couldn't tear his eyes away from Namjoon. He didn't even glance over at Jin as he nodded shyly.

"Uh, Namjoon came to say hello and to see how you were doing," Jin informed him next, quickly realizing that he wasn't going to get any quality conversation in while Namjoon was still present. The man in question smiled awkwardly and approached the bed as well, standing beside Jin's chair. 

"Morning, kid. How's- uh.. How are you?" He wasn't being intentionally awkward, he just got the overwhelming vibe that the hybrid just arbitrarily didn't like him.

" 'm okay," he mumbled, hardly opening his mouth when he spoke.

"Ah. That's good..."

Jin straightened himself in his chair. "So, what did you do yesterday when you woke up after I left?" he asked, trying desperately to ease the tense atmosphere.

The younger finally took his eyes away from Namjoon and stared down at his breakfast instead, a small smile on his face. His eyes flicked between Jin, Namjoon, and his plate nervously until Jin's genuine smile somewhat placated his uncomfortableness with the situation. "I.. um, I made friends," he murmured, trying to hide his happiness behind a shy grin as he dropped his gaze back to his food once more.

"Oh really?" Jin asked, amused endlessly at how adorable the younger was right now. "Who did you make friends with?" He had no doubts this cutie had befriended everyone that entered this room by now.

"There was Youngbae-hyung and Jiyong-sshi and also Ms. Suzy. She gives me my medicine, and yesterday, she called me a good boy and pet my head." He sounded far too excited to be telling Jin how he was a 'good boy' that Namjoon's stomach was doing flips. He couldn't imagine not telling Jin how important he was to him every single day, and here this kid was, reveling in a simple compliment from a stranger. It honestly broke Namjoon's heart.

Jin laughed. "That sounds wonderful, I'm happy you made some more friends. Who are the other two?"

He was a bit more hesitant in answering this time around, purposefully avoiding Namjoon's gaze. He didn't really want the human to know about the fighting. People at the hospital treat him with such pity and caution- except for Ms. Suzy. He didn't want to look weak to Namjoon, who already disliked him. He didn't know why this particular human's approval was so important to him, but it was and he couldn't change that. He tried to ignore the fact that the human was there at all so he could simply try to talk to Jin as if it were just the two of them. "Youngbae-hyung is.. he's like me." There, that didn't give anything away. "And Jiyong-sshi is his mas- his owner."

Namjoon knew, though. Namjoon knew that Jiyong was the person that Hoseok had mentioned the previous day that they would be meeting this afternoon during his lunch break. He couldn't help but wonder what they even say to a hybrid who has been kept away from the modern world since birth and knows virtually nothing about how to behave around others. 'hey so your life is a lie, here's a pair of shoes now go be good'? He couldn't imagine.

On the other hand, Jin was very pleased with the way the younger corrected himself and referred to the human as an owner rather than a master, and he let it show with his big stupid grin. "I'm so happy for you. How come you call Youngbae your hyung but not me?" he asked with a small laugh.

The younger looked up at Jin with big puppy dog eyes. "Am I allowed to?"

"Well of course, we're friends, right?"

The younger had a small shy smile on his face and Jin noticed his tail sway once behind him before he controlled himself and willed it to stay still. "Yes. You are my first friend, hyung."

Jin had to fight every fiber of his being to not let out a squeal and jump up and down in excitement and overwhelming amounts of love and happiness. He did, however, let out a prolonged "Awwwwww" that had the younger's cheeks flaring up in shades of pink. "You are so cute, you know that?"

Even Namjoon had to admit that that was one of the cutest thing he'd ever seen. He himself was sporting his own smile at this point, despite the awkward relationship between the two of them. Either way, he still had to get over to the other wing of the hospital for his internship. "And on that fucking adorable note, I'm going to get to work. Have fun you two, see you this afternoon."

"Bye Namjoonie," Jin said, laughing quietly when his owner ruffled his hair before leaving.

Once the door closed behind the human, the younger hybrid's shoulders slumped a little bit. "Hyung, I don't think he likes me very much..."

"What are you talking about? He just called you adorable!"

The younger's head cocked to the side. "Does that mean he likes me?" he asked, genuinely curious about the correlation between the two comments.

"Well it's a pretty good indicator," Jin replied, resisting the urge to tell him that he liked him well enough to consider adoption. But he had to remind himself that he wasn't going to let that slip yet until he knew for certain. This kid had been through a lot and he didn't need another letdown. He'd have to talk to Namjoon this afternoon about reconciling with the dog hybrid. "You should probably finish your breakfast before it gets cold."

"Oh!" the younger perked up, as if he'd forgotten. "Look, it's so colorful!" he exclaimed, looking down at his tray of rice and eggs and assorted fruits. "They feed me so much here I think I might explode. Yesterday I had three whole meals." He really was feeling pampered with the meals he'd been getting ever since he'd been found. He'd been so accustomed to eating as much as he can at once to last him until his master decided he deserved food again that it didn't fare well with this new feeding schedule. He didn't know if he should come to expect getting this much food in one day, because if so, he would really have to get used to that.

Jin wanted to inform the other that 3 meals is normal, but he thought his excitement right now was far too precious to ruin by bringing reality back down onto his already overburdened shoulders. "Well, eat up then."

"Are you hungry?" the younger asked, offering what he had on his tray to his hyung.

The offer warmed Jin's heart. "That's alright, I already ate, but thank you."

He nodded and got back to eating. After a minute of silence, Jin was picking up little signs of anxiety from the other. His hand was shaking ever so slightly as he tried to feed himself, and every so often, he would put his spoon down and start nervously playing with his tail, dragging it up into his lap. His ears twitched and he would let out a little sniffle every once in a while. Jin wanted to ask him if he was okay, but he didn't know if it would be okay to ask or if he would even get a response. He'd learned by now that when a subject is brought up that the younger doesn't want to talk about, he'll shut himself off completely.

Just as he was going to let it go, the younger let his spoon clink down against his plate, alerting Jin again. "Um... Hyung..."

"Yes?"

"You live with your owner, right?" he asked nervously.

Jin frowned. "Of course I do. I live with Namjoon."

"And hybrids are supposed to have an owner..." the other continued.

"Yeah..." Jin trailed off, not sure if he was liking where this was going.

The younger sniffled. "So... if I get an owner too... I will go live with them. And will I never see you again?" He sounded so heartbroken that Jin was willing to promise him anything just to make him happy again.

"Of course you'll see me again. You can't get rid of me that easily." He wanted so badly to tell him that they might be spending every day together from now on. "You've got a lot to learn about friends, kiddo."

"Mm," the other hummed as he turned back towards his food. He was too shy to look at Jin when he responded. "Hyung, I am happy you are my friend."

Jin looked fondly at the boy on the bed. "I'm happy too."

* * *

 

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Namjoon had already fully prepared himself to meet with Jiyong. He'd thought of a couple questions to ask, and even convinced himself to be more open-minded about it. 

He walked into the cafeteria to see Hoseok, Yoongi, and who he assumed was Jiyong already seated in a booth against the wall. They were talking quietly amongst themselves but the smiles they each sported told Namjoon that they weren't talking about anything serious yet.

When the others noticed him approaching the table, the stranger stood up to shake his hand. "Hello, I'm Kwon Jiyong. It's nice to meet you..."

"Namjoon," he gave his name, returning the handshake before sliding into the booth across from him. "Thank you for meeting with us."

"Oh it's no problem, it's what I do. So, Namjoon, you were the one that found the hybrid, right?"

Namjoon nodded. "Yeah, well, it was Jin, my cat hybrid, but yes. I took him home with me before we brought him here."

"So, first thing's first, he's already formed some kind of a bond with you and your hybrid. I'm not trying to guilt you here, but if you think about it from their perspective, you're the first people to show him genuine kindness maybe in his entire life," Jiyong addressed Namjoon personally. "I'm not saying he wouldn't be able to get over that in the future if he were to be adopted by someone else, but it will certainly make his stay at a shelter a pretty emotionally and socially degressive period, which can reduce his chances of actually being adopted."

Namjoon was quiet for a moment. Jiyong said he wasn't trying to guilt him, but he felt pretty damn guilty right now. "So... Hypothetically speaking, if we were to adopt him... What does the recovery process look like? I mean, how long will it take for him to be... normal?"

"Well... He's still young, so he's still pretty impressionable. I've had Youngbae for about one year now, and he still trips up every once in a while in his mind, but he really is fully functional in society now. It really just varies by hybrid. I'll be honest, we've helped those who just can't accept that life isn't limited to what they grew up with and end up needing to be detained, but with this one, he let us talk with him without any problems. It seems that he's already coming to terms with normal ways of life, and even though it will take a while to educate him on everything he'll need to know, I've personally never seen anyone readily accept our words in our first attempt to get through to them."

"Really?" Hoseok mumbled, sounding astonished. "So, how... what would we have to do?"

Jiyong smiled, seeing that he was getting through to at least one person. "Honestly, it's all about positive reassurance. I hope this goes without saying, but never get physical with them in regards to punishment. Instead, maybe sit them down and tell them why what they did was wrong and how they can avoid it in the future. He's going to have a lot to remember, like how to act around others, things he's suddenly allowed to do and things he's not, just... you know, just try not to overwhelm him. Have him learn by experience rather than just listing all the rules at once. Always keep in mind that no matter how tough they try to act sometimes, they really are in a vulnerable place and they're just trying to preserve themselves in the only way they know how."

Yoongi grimaced, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "So, are you saying that they've been known to have violent outbursts? Is that something we should be concerned about?"

Jiyong mimicked Yoongi's facial expression. "I wouldn't say that you should be worried, but you honestly never know. When I first got Youngbae, my friend brought over his hybrid dog so they could maybe interact a bit and he could make a friend, but you know how dogs can be sometimes. They can get hyper, not realize when they're taking things too far... It's not like Youngbae inflicted any damage, but that self-preservation instict just kind of kicks in and they can get extremely intimidating. You have to keep in mind though, that they're basically programmed to submit to their humans, and as much as I hate having to take advantage of that, it's sometimes necessary to stop a confrontation. Be confident in that they won't hurt you and don't hesitate to step in between, but once they calm down, you're going to have to talk about why you did what you did."

Hoseok was frowning, his arms crossed as he slumped in his seat. "I mean... I have a hybrid dog... All three of us have hybrids, actually, but mine's a dog, and he _is_ pretty energetic. What if no people are home?"

"This is a big decision, and your hybrids shouldn't be left out of it. You need to sit them down and talk to them about boundaries and acceptance. These victims don't act like normal hybrids at first, that much is true, and some hybrids just don't understand that. Make sure they all meet him before you bring him home- not all at once- and really have them try to interact with him in a safe environment first, like here at the hospital. Hybrids are inherently good and accepting in nature regardless of personality, so depending on the level of their reluctance or excitement in getting a new member to their family, they might need some more warming up before introducing him into your home."

"He's already really close with mine- Jin. Would you think that would be enough for him to behave once we bring him home and start our classes at university again? Or would that maybe prove to be a problem if there's a time where no one is at home but our pets?" Namjoon asked, glad that he's getting some good honest answers.

"This early on, it's going to be all about testing the waters," Jiyong responded. "I can't promise anything, every hybrid is different and I honestly can't say for sure. At least in the beginning, try to be around more often for supervision purposes as well as a comforting matter. You know, if you're just never around, it's difficult to form the bond that you will need to have with him. If he knows there's mutual respect and that it's not all about dominance and submission like he's used to, he's going to be less likely to act out."

Namjoon was out of questions, and as he glanced around the table, the slow nodding of Hoseok and Yoongi showed that they were pretty much finished as well. "Alright..." he mumbled conclusively. "I think we're done, but thank you so much for meeting us, Jiyong-sshi."

Jiyong stood and bowed. "It's really no problem. You have my number now, so if you remember any more questions, you can text me or call me, we could even meet up again if need be. Thanks for your time and your interest. It's really a worthy cause."

The other three stood as well, each shaking hands with Jiyong before saying goodbye and sitting back down together after Jiyong left.

"So what are we thinking?" Hoseok asked expectantly.

"I really don't know," Namjoon sighed. "It sounds nice, but there's a lot of uncertainty."

"The least we can do is take Taehyung and Jungkook over here sometime and let them meet the kid," Yoongi offered. "We can get their opinions and see if they're even compatible. Really, I'm completely down for this if Tae and Kookie are okay with it."

Hoseok grinned widely. He knew Taehyung wouldn't be an issue; he loved other dogs and for someone so hyper and energetic, he was really a sensitive soul and would try his best to be considerate.

The main issue seemed to be Jungkook. He could be pretty selfish at times, wanting all of Yoongi's attention to himself and the presence of another hybrid would probably be threatening to him. But if all it took for them to change the life of a poor victim of dogfighting was getting Jungkook on board, Hoseok doubted it would be too much of an issue.

"Fine," Namjoon said with finality. "We'll let them meet him, but if he doesn't go well, then it's too much and the deal is off."

Hoseok clapped his hands in his happiness. "Yay! Thanks Namjoon, it'll be worth it, I promise!"

"Yeah, yeah," he groaned. "You go rejoice somewhere else, I don't have much time left in my lunch break and I'm actually starving."

"Alright," Hoseok said, standing with Yoongi. "We'll see you back at home tonight."

After the two left, Namjoon heaved a big sigh. This was stressing him out more than he should, but at least he had more clarity than before now that he was more well-informed to be able to make a logical decision. He didn't want to put the safety of Jin, Taehyung, and Jungkook in danger by bringing in a hybrid who might snap at any moment, but at the same time, he really did feel bad for the kid and he did want to help. Jiyong had said that he was already taking steps to being better, which was already an accomplishment. Maybe it wouldn't be _too_ difficult...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yay~ fluff followed by real talk :) 
> 
> Do you think Namjoon and Jungkook will ever be able to get close to Jimin? :O
> 
> Also, I really like imagining hyperactive Tae trying to calm himself down so he doesn't make his new friend scared <3 precious image lol


	8. Pressure

_"Get back up, you little bitch," spat a voice from above._

_He obeyed, simply because it was his only option._ _He tried desperately not to limp as he regained his balance on two feet._

_No showing weakness. Weakness means ridicule. Weakness means defeat._

_He coughed once, twice, and then took stance again, despite the stinging pain in his foot. His ankle felt like it would give out at any moment, but he willed himself to be strong, to ignore any and all pain. Pain means weakness, and weakness means-_

_"Well? Are you waiting for a fucking invitation?" It was the same voice._

_He swung forward from where he was, his left fist making solid contact with the sparring pad on the other hybrid's hand. Keeping up the momentum, he put all of his weight on his bad ankle and kicked out with his right, foot landing square in the middle of the pad strapped to the other's chest._

_He'd been at this all day, he wasn't sure how much longer this would be going on. His body was spent, as proven my his foolish fall resulting in this newest injury to add to his mental list of ailments which he would never complain about._ _He shook his head to try to keep the sweat at the tips of his hair from falling onto his face._ _Still, he obeyed his master's orders and continued practicing under his scrutinizing stare._

_He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he fell last, but eventually, his leg simply wouldn't hold up his weight anymore, and he toppled down to the ground. His breathing was heavy, and the sweat pooling in the dips of his muscles made him shiver even with the heat radiating off of his body. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he coughed again despite the constricting feeling in his chest, feeling as though he might get sick._

_"Hey," his Master called, pushing against his forehead with his foot. "Get up. Finish."_

_He tried, he really did. But his shaking arms and lack of breath prevented it from happening._

_The man reached down and gripped the hybrid's bicep tightly and dragged him across the ground towards the door. He didn't fight it, simply laying limp and allowing himself to be pulled. He knew what he was in for, but instead of being afraid of what was to come, all he could think was that as soon as his Master was finished with his punishment, he would get to sleep._

_The mere idea of rest had him complying as the man threw him onto the floor in the very middle of the adjoining room and then yanked him into a kneeling position. He braced himself with his hands on either side of his knees, bent over himself with his head ducked between his shoulders. He heard the clinking of metal against the wall behind him, holding his breath and doing everything he could to keep his thoughts on the cot waiting for him as soon as it was over._

_Mind clear, he hardly had to bite his tongue as the heavy chain made contact with his bare back._

* * *

 

The hybrid awoke with a small start, nothing more than the tensing of his body and a sharp intake of breath. He closed his eyes again and yawned deeply, pushing his dream to the back of his mind with the rest of his memories simply waiting to be called back forth the next time he fell asleep.

He opened his eyes again, glancing around the hospital room he'd become rather familiar with. He was feeling about the same as the day before- still in quite a bit of pain, but definitely bearable. They had him on pain medication, so there was no point in complaining; it's more than he's used to receiving in terms of care anyway. His chest still felt tight and breathing was weird and a bit difficult, but Miss Suzy had explained to him earlier that it was going to get better because of the gross liquid medicine she gave him every day. While he didn't understand why, he thought that he could trust Suzy. He didn't like his doctor all that much, but Suzy was okay. She was good, and he trusted her.

He sniffled slightly and started moving around the joints that didn't hurt too bad. He never quite liked waking up, it never really brought anything good. Waking up was just a solid wall of bodily soreness and bad news that he'd come smashing through against his will. Sometimes he wished he could just sleep forever and ever. Sometime he had dreams that he didn't like, but sometimes he didn't dream at all, and those times were the best. 

He was getting used to new emotions too, though. Being alone was weird, but he thinks it's pleasant. Even as he laid here in his hospital bed, there was no one else in the room- no other hybrids shuffling around in their own cots, no human watching over him. 

More than he liked being by himself though, he liked being around Jin.

Jin's presence was enough to make him smile. He didn't know what it was exactly that Jin was making him feel, and he wasn't certain he would ever figure it out, but so far, Jin was the only one who had ever elicited such an emotion from him. It puzzled him but he liked it. He really, really liked it.

As his thoughts wandered over his friend, he was reminded of the previous day. He had been talking to Jin when Namjoon came in the room again. He asked him if he'd like to meet some new hybrids tomorrow-- or rather, today-- to which he'd agreed. Now, though.. He wasn't too certain.

He was honestly feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything and wasn't sure if he really wanted to bother socializing with anyone today, much less meet someone new. There were so many new people and hybrids that he was trying to piece together who was associated with whom... So far, he had discerned that Jiyong and Youngbae were separate from Miss Suzy and his doctor, who were also different from the two people who questioned him. Why has he seen everyone else again but not them? Where did they go? And Jin was Namjoon's pet, Hoseok was Jin's friend, and Namjoon somehow knew other hybrids he wanted him to meet? It was a wonder that he'd remembered everyone's names, he wasn't sure he could handle adding  _more_ to the mix. 

He was busy pondering when the door opened, revealing his nurse, Suzy. 

"Good morning," she greeted quietly yet still cheerily. The hybrid looked in her direction but stayed quiet, but only because his mind was still moving at a mile a minute. "How are you today?" she asked as she moved further inside the room towards his bed.

He followed her with his eyes, but only managed a hum in response. He was still very sleepy from having recently woken up.

The woman reached his bedside and presented him with his medicine, which he took diligently. This time, when she praised him, he could hardly smile.

He wasn't even sure what was going on with him right now. He'd never before heard the words 'you did well' so hearing them now should be enough to have him soaring, but he couldn't help but feel a bit cynical. All he did was drink medicine. How could that be considered 'doing well' when in the past, he'd managed to win countless matches  _in a row_  earning nothing but a 'work harder' from masters. Why was she lying to him?

He scolded himself for those thoughts. He'd liked hearing such things these past couple of days, why was today different?

"Are you feeling okay?" Suzy asked, mentally noting his odd silence and frown. 

The hybrid nodded and softened his eyes. Suzy was always nice to him; he shouldn't be cold to her.

"Are you sure?" she clarified. "You can tell me what's going on, it's part my job anyway."

"Mhm. It's just..." the hybrid mumbled, gaze dropping to a spot on the wall behind her. "Tired. I'm just tired." She didn't want to know what he was really thinking; no one ever wanted to know.

Suzy grimaced, and the hybrid knew she could see right through him. "Alright, well let me just change out your bandages and then you can get back to sleep, okay?" 

"Mhm."

Suzy helped him to sit up and then slipped the gown from his shoulders, leaving his torso bare. He was used to having to expose himself like so, but he was never handled so gently.

He stayed quiet, finding that he didn't mind the prodding hands carefully rolling the gauze off of his body, avoiding his arm that was in a sling. It was a small thing, but to him, the considerate care he was receiving was a big deal. The way that she softly apologized any time he was moved in a way that made him hiss in pain, and the way that she always told him what she was going to do before she actually did it... It made him feel like a living being, for once in his life.

It almost gave him the courage to tell her that he wasn't feeling all that great today. He would have, but there's not really anything she could do about his emotions, so he kept quiet so as not to be a burden.

Once she was finished replacing the bandages all over his chest and back, covering it back up with new gauze, and then laying him back down and bringing the blankets back up, she got his attention once again. "Are you sure there's nothing else I can do?" 

The hybrid's eyes accidentally flicked to the side table where he had the slip of paper with Jiyong and Youngbae's phone numbers on it. Suzy caught the small movement and looked down at the paper. "Do you need to make a phone call? We have public phones down the hall, I can take you there if you'd like."

"Uh... N-No, sorry. I just want to sleep more," he stuttered, embarrassed that he'd been caught having such a needy thought. He didn't need to bring anyone else into this, he could handle it all on his own like he always had.

Suzy frowned. "Alright. Do you want some breakfast before you go back to sleep?"

He shook his head, already snuggling into his pillow.

Once the nurse was certain that he'd closed his eyes, she snuck another look at the paper on the side table. 'Jiyong and Youngbae' she repeated in her mind, nodding as she left the room quietly.

The hybrid tried to sleep, but his mind was still racing. He could tell what he wanted more- total and complete solitude, or someone to tell him exactly what to do and how to feel. He hated his masters, but he couldn't deny that it was easier when he had someone controlling his every move. Being given this much freedom was overwhelming, especially on top of meeting so many new people and contemplating his future. People keep telling him he's going to be adopted one day, but he kind of hopes that it happens right away. He doesn't like this state of uncertainty he's in right now. This middle-ground is a little scarier than he thought it would be. 

Everything about his new life is scary, actually. He does like some aspects- like the petting and the hot food- but more than that, he yearns for a sureness in his life that he's lost. Every time he tries to remind himself how miserable his whole life has been, he realizes that he's just as miserable right now, just in a different way. The first couple of days he'd been introduced to this new side of life, he'd allowed himself to be hopeful, to dream of falling asleep in a house with an owner who loved him, being allowed to drink water whenever he wanted it, being able to see the leaves on trees in person instead of through the car window at night. Now though, he can't stop thinking about other things... What if his owner doesn't like him at all and throws him out again? What if he gets adopted and he never sees Jin again? What if Jin gets sick of him too? What if everything is just  _too different_? 

He tries to move into a more comfortable position on the bed, but finds that nothing feels right. It either hurts or is too much of a stretch for him to relax. Just when he feels like screaming out in frustration, there's a soft knock at the door. The hybrid frowns, it had been too soon since Suzy left last for her to be checking on him again, but too long for her to be bringing him the breakfast he'd already denied. 

He stayed quiet until the door opened a crack, and the smell hit him first. It wasn't Suzy, it was Youngbae.

The older stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him, the younger already dreading this encounter. He was sure Youngbae smelled his distress from earlier, and he didn't want him to know his state right now. It would be showing weakness, and-

"Hey... Your nurse contacted me, said she was worried about you," the older spoke. He didn't seem as awkward as the younger would have expected him to be in this kind of situation. 

The younger stayed quiet. He didn't realize how easy it would be to revert back to the 'show no emotion' standard he'd lived by his whole life just by seeing someone who reminded him of it. 

"Mind if I come sit?" Youngbae asked casually as he came further inside. The younger's eyes flicked towards the chair by his bedside and back up at the other. Taking it as an invitation, Youngbae sat down and made himself comfortable. "What's going on?"

The younger wanted to snort. He couldn't believe that this was the same hybrid sitting in front of him who had once been the most feared fighter of his time. Only a year ago, he had been concerned for his life because of this very person sitting right in front of him, and now he wants him to willingly reveal all of his weaknesses to him? 

Youngbae gave a sad smile at the silent treatment he was receiving. "I know I haven't really given you much reason to trust me, and I get that you don't just want to sit here and talk about  _feelings_. You don't have to talk to me, either. I just... I don't know, I just want you to know that out here, honesty is good; it's encouraged, really. People really do want to listen if there's something on your mind. Maybe they can't always help, but sometimes just saying it out loud is enough."

The younger thought over his words. He knew that a lot of things were different now from before, maybe he was right that people wouldn't mind him being honest. But it wasn't enough to sway his disposition that had been built up since he was a child.

"I get that you've got a lot to take in right now..." Youngbae sighed. "But just keep in mind that people are genuinely concerned about you, and it makes them feel good when you confide in them. It's not annoying or a burden, it's a sign of trust. I'm sure that with your judgement, if you can learn to trust somebody, they will keep that trust. I didn't trust anyone but Jiyong for a long time, but really, that was enough. I'm sure you know somebody right now who wants to help you out. Even I want to help you, okay? I know you probably don't trust me at all right now, but you listened the other day, right? Why is today any different?"

The younger stared straight up at the ceiling. He wanted to trust Jin like that, but he was afraid. Jiyong adopted Youngbae, but Jin can't adopt him. He can't put his trust in somebody that he can't be certain will even stay in his life. He wanted to trust Suzy too, but even Jin had promised to stay with him; she hadn't. He wasn't certain about either. "It's different because I thought about it," he mumbled sadly.

It was quiet for another moment before Youngbae spoke up again. "I'm in no place to tell you what to do, but don't overthink it. It only makes sense that everything that's going on got you thinking, but until you can learn to ignore that little part of you that tells you everything you do is wrong and acknowledge your insticts more, then nothing is going to change. I know you want to be happy, I know it because you seem to forget that everything you are going through right now, I already dealt with it. I can help you, but you have to ask for it. Otherwise, I might as well be talking to a brick wall."

The younger was frustrated with himself, not with Youngbae, but he couldn't do a very good job of verbalizing himself. "I don't want this."

Youngbae's features softened even more. "If you want me to leave right now, I will."

He took a long time to think about that. Here somebody was- genuinely offering to help sort out his emotions- but he didn't think he could do it. He knew the older knew what he was talking about, his predictions about the younger's feelings were spot on- he really had been in this exact position before- but admitting defeat or asking for help goes against everything he's ever known. He just doesn't know if he's ready to let his guard down that much.

In the end, he gave a small nod in response to Youngbae's earlier statement. He almost felt bad about the defeated look on the other's face as he stood up with a sigh, but he reminded himself over and over again that he was doing the right thing. Secrets are meant to be kept to onesself. As soon as they are shared, it's an opportunity for whoever you trusted to hurt you. He couldn't risk it.

"Okay," Youngbae said as he stood there awkwardly by the bed. "Please think about what I said, though. Alright?"

He gave another nod as he tried to avoid eye contact. True to his word, he planned to think a lot about what Youngbae said.

A few minutes after he left, his nurse came back inside to see how he was doing.

"Feeling any better?" she asked hesitantly.

"Miss Suzy, someone is supposed to visit me today. I- I just want to be alone. When they come, can you ask them to come back tomorrow?" he mumbled out. Even saying this much was a struggle for him. Admitting that he needed space was a big step, he thought. That'll be enough for today. Hopefully Jin won't hate him for not wanting to see him or meet his friends just yet.

Suzy gave him a sympathetic smile. "Sure, sweetie. Can I get you anything else? Food, water?"

He shook his head and looked back up at the tiled ceiling. 

"Okay. I'll be back in an hour. If you need anything before then, you know which button to press."

"Can you turn off the light?" he practically whispered.

She only hummed, and he heard the pattering of her shoes leaving his bedside, then the light flicked off right before she exited the room and closed the door behind her.

He rolled over gently onto his right side to keep the pressure off of his aching back, but also so that he could be facing away from the door. He tugged the blanket up to his chin and let one tear slip out, praying no one would catch him crying. It was just too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading, I'm loving all the comments ^_^ 
> 
> Sorry for doing this to poor Jiminnie, but won't it make it all the more special when he finds someone (or maybe plural??) that he trusts enough to talk to?


	9. Hello

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware: ahead lies Sugakookie cuteness, an adorable Taehyung, and the meeting you've all been waiting for.

"I'm sorry, it was a personal request from the patient. He isn't accepting visitors at this time."

"But he knew we were coming," Jin mumbled quietly from behind his owner.

The nurse turned her attention away from Namjoon and softened at the sad look on the hybrid's face. "I know sweetie, but you have to try to understand how much this must be for him. His advising nurse says he's just under quite a lot of stress. He requested that you return tomorrow."

"Of course," Namjoon answered. "Thank you, ma'am."

She bowed in response and got back to work as Namjoon turned around to face the group. "Sorry guys. Maybe tomorrow? Let's just go home now."

He started ushering everyone out of the hospital, but it wasn't until they were all in the parking lot again that Taehyung perked up. "Oh! She said he wasn't feeling good, so we should get him a toy, right? Hoseokkie always gets me new toys when I'm sick."

Hoseok grinned widely and ruffled Taehyung's hair between his floppy ears. His hybrid's generous nature never failed to make him smile. "That's a great idea, TaeTae. We should stop by the store on our way home."

"Why would you get him a toy? Toys are a  _reward_ ," Jungkook countered. "He made us come all the way out here only to say he doesn't want to meet us? Yoongi-hyung would have taken my toys  _away_."

"Hey, that's a good idea too," Yoongi responded. "Jungkook, your phone please."

"What?!" the youngest cried indignantly. "But I didn't even do anything wrong!"

The others stayed quiet, not wanting to interfere, as Jungkook handed over his cellphone to his owner with a dramatic pout on his face. Yoongi pocketed the device and then gestured for everyone to get into the car, getting into the driver's seat himself. He didn't respond to Jungkook, and the hybrid sulked silently as he climbed into the backseat.

Once they reached the toy store, everyone piled out except Yoongi, who stopped his own hybrid. "Jungkook, join me in the front seat please." The kitten complied with his head hung low, walking around to the passenger's side of the car. Yoongi leaned out the window to address the rest of the group. "We'll stay out here, you guys take your time. There's no rush."

Namjoon led the others away as Jungkook slid back into the car, in the front with his owner this time.

It was quiet for a moment while Yoongi collected his thoughts, and Jungkook didn't want to speak for fear of getting something else taken away.

"Jungkookie, why are you doing this?" he asked, no trace of anger in his tone. 

Jungkook blinked his wide eyes. Why wasn't he getting yelled at? "What do you mean?"

Yoongi sighed, hands still gripping the steering wheel and looking ahead even though the car was parked and turned off. "I mean why are you angry at this kid? You haven't even met him yet, and all you've had to say are mean words."

"... It's a cat thing..." Jungkook mumbled, knowing it wouldn't work but wanting to try it anyway.

Yoongi rolled his eyes and released the steering wheel, turning to face his hybrid. "Jungkook, don't pull that shit with me. If you can't tell me why you've been so rude lately, I'm going to have to take away another one of your toys."

Jungkook whimpered, lowering his gaze so he didn't have to meet his owner's disappointed eyes. "Hyuuung~" The feeling of Yoongi's glare on him had him shutting up immediately. "You're going to adopt him, aren't you?" he murmured almost under his breath.

In the quiet of the car, Yoongie heard him loud and clear. "We're not sure, Jungkookie. Why would it bother you if we did?"

Jungkook doesn't just want to come out and say 'because then you won't pay as much attention to me' because that's not entirely it. "B-Because it would change things," he pouted, voice cracking as the urge to cry hit him. Why did Yoongi want to change their perfect little family? Was he not good enough?

Yoongi knew how much Jungkook hated when things changed. The hybrid used to be his family pet, a gift to Yoongi as a child. When Yoongi became old enough to move out, Jungkook had a hard time adjusting to a new environment. Instead of the Mins, he was surrounded by new people and new hybrids. He was used to being their only pet, but when Yoongi moved in with Namjoon and Hoseok, there were suddenly two more hybrids that came along with it.

Yoongi knew that it was a struggle for Jungkook all those years ago, and now that he'd become used to his new family, it seemed like it was changing again. "You know we're not doing this because of you, right?" Yoongi asked, hand reaching out to pet the back of his hybrid's head in hopes of stopping his tears.

He shook his head. "If I was a good pet, you wouldn't want a new one..."

Yoongi sighed. "You're the best pet, Jungkook. You know that. It's not just me making this decision, it's Hoseok and Namjoon too. Taehyung and Jin are great hybrids too. But this hybrid has been through a lot of bad things, Kookie. Don't you think it's the right thing to do to let him have some love too?"

Jungkook sniffled and wiped at his nose with his sleeve (normally Yoongi would remind him that doing that is gross and tell him to get a tissue, but he let it slide this time). "Someone else can do that. It didn't have to be you," he grumbled with a wavering voice.

"You're right, it didn't  _have_ to be, but maybe we just wanted to be good people and help someone who needs it. Jungkook, you need to realize that he's really seen some tough times, and he really needs a nice supportive family. We're considering it because we really do think that you three would be capable of making him happy and showing him what it's like to have a loving home."

"But... But you'll stop-"

"No, I will never stop paying attention to you, silly," Yoongi chided with a grin, flicking his pet in the forehead.

Jungkook giggled lightly and with one more sniffle, stopped the flow of tears. He put his hand over the spot the Yoongi had flicked him. "Ow hyung!"

"Seriously," the human said, his smile turning into something more fond and sincere. 

"You promise?"

"Yup. And if I'm not paying attention to you, you have permission to lay on top of me no matter what I'm doing and demand to be pet... which you do anyway, but from now on, I won't push you off."

* * *

 

Inside the store, Taehyung was dragging everyone else around as he bounded down each aisle, picking up random things before depositing them right back where they were. None of the others knew exactly what he was searching for, but they followed anyway, spirits raising as they watched the hyper hybrid search without success for over 5 minutes. Taehyung knew this toy store like the back of his hand, it's one of his favourite places to go, and Hoseok knows that well.

"Aha!" Taehyung shouted finally, digging through a huge container filled with big squishy bouncy balls. He pulled one out that was larger than his head. "This thing!"

Hoseok laughed at his hybrid and came over to take the ball from him. "Tae, stop thinking like yourself. He can't play with this with his arm all wrapped up in a sling." 

Taehyung hummed in thought. "Oh! Then he can play fetch with it."

"He can't run right now, TaeTae," Hoseok chided, still laughing. "Try finding something nice that doesn't require lots of movement. Something he can use even while he's still at the hospital.

Taehyung huffed and plopped onto the ground as he thought deeply. Hoseok dropped the giant bouncy ball back in with the others and then joined Namjoon and Jin, who were standing amused a few yards away. They all saw when Taehyung gasped, his eyes growing big and his posture straightening up. "I know!!" he yelled, hopping back up to his feet and running off again.

The three started to follow him, but didn't make it that far out of the aisle before Taehyung was running back towards them, a teddy bear in hand. He held it out proudly to his owner.

Hoseok smiled widely again, grabbing the bear that Taehyung was handing him. "This is great, Tae. I'm sure he'll love it."

* * *

 

The hybrid's sleep schedule was thrown off after he spent his lonely day alternating between long naps and intense bouts of self-reflection.

Still, he found himself wide awake the next morning with only a handful of his pressing questions answered. Obviously the big ones like 'what next?' or 'who can I trust?' remained unanswered at the back of his mind. 

He did, however, have a bit more clarity on some more immediate issues, like what he's going to do if Jin ends up coming back today. He is more than ready to face Jin and the new hybrids. After a lot of thinking, he realized that it's not like any of this mattered anyway. Why was he so worked up over meeting someone new anyway? 

Sure, he wanted to impress Namjoon and show him how good he could be, but it's not like doing so would actually make the human want to adopt him (so he could stay with Jin). It was made clear to him that the human did not want him, and he would have to accept it just like every other rejection he's taken in his life. So Namjoon wanted him to meet some new hybrids- great. No problem. It won't make a difference either way. He's still just going to be sent off to the shelter where he'll live for the rest of his life knowing no one will ever adopt him until even the shelter kicks him back out on the street for being a burden.

So, fuck it.

Today, if Jin still wanted to see him, he would. If Namjoon brought the other hybrids, he'd see them too. If Namjoon told him to his face that he was unwanted rather than having to hear it from Jin, then so be it. Life has always just moved on, regardless if he's prepared or not, and this is no different.

Later that morning, when Miss Suzy came to see him, he took his medicines without complaint, and finally accepted breakfast. He hadn't eaten at all the day before, and though he wasn't exactly new to fasting, it was never a pleasant experience, and it had never before been an intentional one. Being in this new place was changing him, and he was taking things for granted- such as the presence of food. He didn't quite like that.

Suzy reentered with a tray of similar food that he'd been provided for breakfast previously, and placed it over his lap.

"Thank you Miss Suzy," he said quietly, feeling a little guilty about how despondent and antisocial he had been to her the day before.

The nurse smiled amicably and shrugged his tone off. "Of course, sweetie. Is there anything else I can get you?"

He shook his head and looked down to his tray of food.

"I thought I'd let you know that your visitors from yesterday are already here. They've been instructed to stand by until I get your confirmation, so are you feeling well enough to see anyone today?"

The hybrid grimaced and looked down. "Yes ma'am. But... Can I eat first?"

"No problem, I'll go deliver the news," she responded. "I'll be back in a few minutes, but you still take all the time that you need, okay?"

At his nod, the human exited the hospital room, leaving the hybrid alone once again. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he picked up a spoon. He still hadn't quite learned how to pace himself when eating, but that just meant that he was already finished by the time Suzy came back to check on him. She took his tray and told him that his guests would be coming in any minute now.

He sat still and waited with bated breath until there was a quiet knock on the door. The hybrid watched as only Jin entered the room.

"Good morning!" the older greeted.

"Hi."

"Are you feeling better today?" he asked kindly as he came closer.

The younger only nodded his head a bit. 

"I'm glad," Jin said. "I was worried about you yesterday."

The other hybrid blinked his eyes in surprise. "Y-You were?"

"Well of course! But I'm happy you're feeling better now. Do you want to meet my friends?"

He didn't stop his confused blinking. Jin was worried about him? He wanted to apologize, but it seemed Jin had already moved on to another subject. "O-Oh. Yes."

Jin blinked. "Namjoon!" he called, turning his body around towards the door. The human popped his head in the room. "Come say hi," the hybrid encouraged, beckoning him over with his hand. As Namjoon made his way closer, Jin continued to speak to the younger hybrid. "Namjoonie and I live with two other humans, Yoongi, and Hoseok, who you already met. Today you're going to see them and their own hybrid pets."

The younger was nodding slowly, piecing the information together in his mind. Okay, so Namjoon had two human friends, Jin had two hybrid friends, and Jin's friends were Namjoon's pets. He could handle that. 

"Hey there," Namjoon greeted. "You feeling alright?"

The hybrid swallowed, not understanding why everyone out here is always asking about his health. He briefly thought about Youngbae's words the previous day, that people are actually concerned about his wellbeing. It was a bizarre concept, and he wasn't sure if he would ever come to get used to the constant self-focused questions.

When Namjoon coughed lightly, the hybrid gasped, forgetting that he was asked a question. "O-Oh! Yes sir. I'm sorry."

Namjoon grinned. "Don't apologize, you're fine." Namjoon liked how cute the kid was when he thought he had offended him. "And you don't need to call me sir."

"Mm..." he hummed, taking that in. So... What was he supposed to call him? He shook his head lightly to stop thinking useless thoughts and focus on what was going on around him. The way Jin and Namjoon were looking at him made him think he missed another question. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, nothing," Jin brushed him off. "So are you ready?"

He nodded his head again and Namjoon moved towards the door.

"He's going to get Hoseokkie and Tae," Jin explained again. 

A moment later, the two in question were coming in the room, Hoseok leading Taehyung- who was holding the teddy bear gift behind his back. "Hey there!" Hoseok greeted, releasing his hold on Taehyung's arm. "Remember me?"

The hybrid nodded. looking between the two and Jin. 

"Hi!" the new hybrid called out, coming right up to the edge of the bed. The one sitting on the bed leaned away slightly, not liking how this new guy was hovering over him. Hoseok noticed, and pulled Taehyung away just a bit, close enough to be personal but far enough away that it doesn't make him threatened. "My name is Taehyung, I'm 19, part golden retriever, and I really like going for walks. Who are you?"

The other hybrid looked Taehyung up and down. "Um... I.. I'm 19 too." He didn't know how to answer his question properly, so he aimed to change the direction of the conversation. He was a pretty good judge of personality when it came to other dog hybrids. This one seemed easily distracted, so it shouldn't be hard.

"Really? Oh wow, we're same age friends, how cool is that Hoseokkie?" he shouted, turning his head back to his owner, who still had a warning hand on his elbow to make sure he didn't get too out of hand.

The other smiled lightly, enjoying how easily excited this new hybrid was. It was different than anything he's ever known.

"I'm sorry," Hoseok said with a friendly grin. "He gets a bit... weird, sometimes." He punctuated his point by pinching Taehyung's cheek, only to have the hybrid stick his tongue out as far as he could towards Hoseok's hand to get him to let go. Hoseok and Jin laughed at the silliness, and the unnamed hybrid kept up his small grin. They were amusing, if nothing else.

"Oh!" Taehyung exclaimed once Hoseok stopped pinching his cheek. "I got you a present!" He pulled the teddy bear out from behind his back and held it out towards his new friend.

The other hybrid's eyes grew wide as he eyed the stuffed animal. "What? F-For... me?"

"Yes it's for you, silly goose! It's so you always have something to cuddle with," Taehyung grinned widely.

He reached forward slowly with his good arm, grasping the stuffed bear around the middle and marveling and how soft it was. He'd never felt anything quite like it. "Woah..." he let out accidentally, immediately pulling it towards himself once Taehyung had let go. "It's so fluffy..." He couldn't tear his eyes away from his gift.

"Have you ever had one?" Jin inquired.

Without lifting his gaze, the younger shook his head absentmindedly, still marvelling at the bear. He poked its stomach a few times, and pet his hand over its face to feel the soft fur. It was even softer than his own fur- even after Jin had washed his tail. It was softer than that.

"Well itsn't this a beautiful moment!" Jin smiled. "It's your first toy."

"Thank you..." the hybrid whispered, looking up slowly at Taehyung, who seemed floored by the emotions flooding in the other's eyes. He saw sadness but happiness all at the same time. There was sincerity and surprise, and also something that he didn't quite understand.

"Y-You're welcome," Taehyung accidentally stuttered. 

"Um... What do I.. do? With it, I mean. What do I do with it?" the one sitting on the bed asked, now cradling the bear in his good arm.

Taehyung's boxy grin found its way back to his face. "You have to hold him when you go to sleep, that way he can protect you from nightmares."

_How fitting_ , the other thought. 

"Well, um.. Thank you very much, Taehyung-sshi."

Taehyung's eyes flashed with happiness at making his new friend happy. "You can call me Taehyung. Or Tae. Or TaeTae. Or sometimes Jungkookie calls me 'idiot,' but-"

"Alright, that's enough," Hoseok intervened, laughing as he yanked Taehyung away. "It was great to see you again. Have fun with your new toy, okay?"

"Mhm." He nodded wholeheartedly at the human. Hoseok and Taehyung left with enthusiastic waves of goodbye coming from the excitable hybrid.

Once the door closed behind them, Jin let himself laugh a bit. "Tae is a lot. He's great, but he's a lot to deal with."

The younger shook his head, eyes wide at how Jin could say something like that about the ball of happiness that just came through the room. 

"Alright, whatever you say," Jin chuckled. "Next, you'll meet Yoongi and his cat hybrid Jungkook." Jin wasn't worried about Jungkook meeting the new hybrid anymore. He wasn't exactly sure what Yoongi told him, but he seemed much calmer after their chat in the car and Jin was certain that Jungkook wouldn't come in here and intentionally screw things up now. 

As if on cue, the door opened again and in came the two in his thoughts.

"Hello," the human greeted. "My name is Yoongi, it's nice to meet you, Jin has told me a lot about you. This is my pet, Jungkook."

The youngest bowed slightly in greeting, not knowing what to say exactly. It seemed to be enough, for the hybrid on the bed said hello to them both.

"I think you're my hyung, right? I'm 17." Jungkook asked, trying to be friendly.

The other nodded slightly. "Mm. I'm 19."

"Okay, may I call you hyung?"

The hybrid smiled a bit wider at the question, glad that this new person wanted to call him hyung. That meant that he liked him, right? He nodded as an answer and hugged his new teddy bear a bit closer to his body. 

Jungkook noticed the stuffed animal and stepped closer to the bed awkwardly. "Um... Yoongi-hyung says that you've had a hard time, so I hope that... things get better..." It was a struggle to get those words out, and he wasn't even sure if that was the right thing to say. As soon as he was finished, he backed up and hid halfway behind his owner, who was beaming at the display of kindness.

"That's right, kid," Yoongi continued. "All of us want to help you get better, okay? So make sure you get lots of rest and eat as much as you can. We'll be seeing more of each other very soon, I believe."

The hybrid didn't fully comprehend what Yoongi was implying, but he understood that all of these friends of Namjoon and Jin are not bad people. He didn't sense anything mean in any of their characters as he had with nearly every human he'd met before, and that alone was enough to have him breathless. Never had he known so many pure-hearted people.

He was glad that he agreed to meet them. 

Maybe life on this side wasn't as scary as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading~~
> 
> Please leave me a comment? :D I really like hearing your thoughts and advice!


	10. Official

The humans soon stepped away, allowing their hybrids to bond with the newcomer while they talked- hopefully on adoption terms, Jin thought.

Either way, that left Jin, Taehyung, and Jungkook in the other hybrid's hospital room without all that much to talk about. It didn't seem to be a problem, as Taehyung had taken to acting out his favourite anime scenes. 

Apparently, the injured hybrid didn't seem to mind the fact that he still didn't know what an 'anime' was or why he was asked to pretend Taehyung was wearing a straw hat. In fact, he was quite enjoying the entertainment. Jin didn't want to say it out loud, but he was glad Taehyung was getting a friend who was genuinely curious about what he had to say, because if Jin had to listen to his impressions of his favourite Digimon characters one more time...

Still, he couldn't help but worry for the poor kid. Not, Taehyung of course; he'd be fine just talking to himself in front of a mirror. But he couldn't help but wonder if the other hybrid would settle in to their family easily. He knew they were a lot to take in, and he hadn't really let himself consider the possibility that they just wouldn't be a good fit for him. But now he couldn't stop thinking.

"... Hyung?" he heard coming from his right. He glanced over to see their new friend eyeing him oddly (Taehyung remained oblivious to his divided attention). "Are you okay?" he whispered.

He broke out into a soft smile at the younger's concern. "I'm great. Don't you worry."

The younger eyed him warily for quite a while before looking in the opposite direction. Jin followed his eyes to the curtains on the wall on the other side of the room. He smiled, standing and making his way around the bed so he could open the blinds, revealing a window. Glancing behind him to see the other's expression, he was pleased to see the surprise on his face.

Taehyung had just finished a one-man battle scene and refocused his attention on what was going on around him. "Ooh! Let's go outside! Can we go outside, please Jin-hyung? Please??"

Jin looked back towards the one on the bed to see him looking about as hopeful as Taehyung sounded. The oldest smiled softly. "I'll go ask the nurse." He stepped outside the room to see if he could find her, leaving the other three alone momentarily.

Taehyung and Jungkook were looking at the other hybrid, who was now staring back out the window with the wagging of his tail betraying the calm smile on his face. Taehyung smiled widely at the sight, Jungkook's more subdued. "This place is boring, I can't believe you haven't been outside since you got here," Taehyung commented.

The other didn't have the heart to tell him that the only times he ever has been outside, it was either the middle of the night in the dark alleys of the city or half dead behind dumpsters in secluded areas. Either way, he'd never been in a place like what he was seeing through the window. In a garden, with soft grass and trees. It didn't look quite as green as he thought it would, but he wasn't going to complain.

Moments later, Jin was returning with a wheelchair. The other frowned a bit, but Jin grinned. "Sorry. They said we could only take you if you went in one of these." The eldest pushed the wheelchair up to the side of the bed and the younger struggled to get up and lower himself into the seat. As a last minute decision, he reached out with his good arm and grabbed his teddy bear. He huffed a bit as he sat down, not liking the inability to move freely. Jin grabbed the blanket off of his bed and laid it over the younger's lap and draped Namjoon's jacket that he'd left behind over his shoulders.

His excitement returned as Jin started pushing him out of the room and down a hallway. He avoided the eyes of the few people they passed until he could see the doors to the outside in front of them. He tucked the teddy bear between his chest and his hurt arm so its head stuck out over the sling and with his other hand, gripped the armrest of the wheelchair in anticipation. Jungkook walked ahead and opened the door for them to follow through, and the hybrid took a deep breath before he was pushed out into the chilly air.

He was practically vibrating in his seat as he was pushed through the garden, trying his best to keep his tail still so it would stay warm under the blanket. He bit his lip to contain his smile as he took in the sight. There honestly wasn't much to take in, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. He watched Taehyung prance around and Jungkook follow behind them with his arms crossed over his chest, looking cold. Jin wheeled him towards a bench on the other end of the garden and situated the wheelchair right on the edge of it so he could sit down next to him. Jungkook joined them, but Taehyung was still enjoying the grass.

"I thought there would be more green," the one in the chair stated quietly.

Jin turned over to look at him with a fond grin. "What do you mean? It's winter." When he could only give the older a confused look, Jin got an even more confused expression. "It's the season where all the leaves die off before they grow back in spring. It's like nature cleansing itself. It's beautiful, really."

"Alright, that's enough hyung. God, you really are Namjoon-hyung's, aren't you? But really, it's not that beautiful. Actually pretty ugly, as you can see. Just wait until spring," Jungkook chimed in.

"I think it's beautiful," the other commented, voice soft as he refused to take his eyes away from the garden. Jin smiled and ruffled his hair.

"See Jungkookie? Someone appreciates what I say," Jin retorted.

Jungkook only snorted. "Yeah, just because he doesn't know any better yet."

The other frowned at the two arguing. That wasn't how either of them talked to him. Why was it different? Did they not like each other? Or was it him they didn't like? Was it-

"Ignore him," Jin said, keeping the smile on his face. Maybe he was thinking too much into this. "He just pokes fun at us. But really, I can't wait to show you what this would look like in the spring."

The other made a face somewhere between a grin and a grimace. "When is the spring?"

"It should be a couple months. Not too long. By that time, you'll have been healed for a while already and you can run around with Tae all you want."

"Mm. That sounds nice."

 ~~ 

"So this is really all that's left?" Namjoon asked, eyeing Jiyong and the social worker curiously.

"Yup, just one more signature and he can be yours," the social worker, Suwoong, as he introduced himself, replied with a smile.

Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi took turns signing their names one under another until the documents were entirely filled out. "So... When can we take him home?"

"As soon as you want. You could take him home right now," Suwoong answered happily. "Honestly the only reason he was still in the hospital is because the shelter doesn't have accommodations for injured hybrids, but he's healthy enough to not have to be here anymore."

Namjoon took a deep breath and took a second look back over the papers. "Would it be alright if we took him home tomorrow? I want to get a place set up for him to stay. We don't even have a bed or anything for him yet..."

"That's fine, I'll inform his doctor. What time should we get him ready to go?"

How about the evening? 6:00 maybe?" Namjoon looked over to his friends for confirmation. 

"Sounds good to me," Yoongi replied, nodding along with Hoseok. 

"Alright, we'll make sure he's ready to go by 6 tomorrow evening. Do you have any other questions?"

Namjoon huffed again, temporarily puffing out his cheeks as he thought. "I don't think so. I just- wow. This is all really happening, huh?"

Hoseok smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry! Jiminnie will be happy with us."

Namjoon grinned and looked back down at the paper, seeing 'Jimin' penciled in. He fondly recalled the playful argument of naming their new hybrid, laughing again at Hoseok's words ("Well Tae wanted to name him Watermelon, so I don't really see how 'Jimin' could be a problem at all.")

"Okay. We will be here to take him home at 6. Thank you so much."

Namjoon reached forward and shook hands with the social worker, sliding the paperwork back towards him. "My pleasure," Suwoong replied, slipping the papers back into a folder and tucking it under his arm. "It was wonderful to meet you all, I hope you are very happy with your new hybrid." With that, he took his leave.

"So how are you guys feeling about all this?" Jiyong asked.

"Ahhh... Good, I think," Namjoon replied, nodding decisively. "We'll have to clear out a room for him. I suppose he can take the study. Yoongi-hyung, you can take the producing equipment into your room, and maybe we'll move the desk to the living room."

"We can get that extra mattress from my sister's place, but we'll still need to get a bed frame," Hoseok offers helpfully.

Yoongi nods as well. "We'll probably have to actually start cooking real food. I don't think ramen is the best meal for someone who needs to get their strength back," he joked, with a tone of seriousness in his voice. "But we've still got a while left of break, so we'll have plenty of time for everything."

Jiyong smiled as he watched the encounter. "Sounds like you've got this covered. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not right now, I don't think," Namjoon answered. "But we'll probably call you pretty often these next few weeks."

"No problem, that's exactly what I'm here for. I'm glad you were the ones who found him." The three smiled at his touching comment, excited at the prospect of providing this deprived hybrid with a home and a family. "I would suggest telling him about your plans today so he has time to come to terms with this new change before you actually take him home. I know it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but his life has changed a lot these past few days and it's about to change again."

"We understand. We'll go talk to him in a bit," Yoongi nodded decisively.

 ~~

The hybrids only made their way inside once Jin, Jungkook, and Taehyung all noticed the other was shivering in his meager clothing. Even with the blanket and jacket, hospital gowns don't exactly provide any sort of temperature protection. 

As soon as they got him settled back in a sitting position in his bed, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Taehyung called out helpfully, wagging his tail when he smelled his owner among those who were entering. "Hi!"

"Hey Tae. Hey guys," Hoseok nodded to everyone. 

The young hybrid was still situating himself on the bed to be in the most comfortable position when Namjoon was walking over to his bed. He was trying to avoid the eyes of everyone in the room, seeing as there were quite a lot, but the human came too close to ignore. He looked up worriedly at Namjoon, who sensed his discomfort and backed off just a bit with an apologetic smile.

When the hybrid looked around, he noticed Hoseok and Yoongi ushering everyone else out of the room, and he got very confused.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute," Namjoon began. The hybrid was a bit worried at how nervous the human looked. What could he have to say that made him feel that way? And why did he have to say it alone? He almost forgot that Namjoon was asking him for permission to stay and talk; he'd never had to give his own permission to a human before, so he hadn't realized that the older was waiting for his response. "Is that okay?" Namjoon continued.

"O-Oh... Yes... I suppose..."

"Great," he sighed, sitting down in the chair. "I wanted to talk to you about adoption."

Oh. Here it comes. Namjoon telling him to his face. He was ready for this-

"And... us. Well, our family. What I mean is... Would you be opposed to coming home with us? Forever?"

The hybid looked at him confused. What does he say? Of course he wants to go home with them, but he hadn't considered it as much of a possibility. But if it wasn't a possibility, why was Namjoon asking? He wasn't so cruel as to rub it in his face, was he? He didn't seem like the type.

"I understand that it's a big decision," Namjoon continued when the hybrid remained silent. "But we do want to adopt you. It's just that... I wanted to make sure that you would be comfortable with that first."

The hybrids eyes widened considerably. Namjoon wanted to adopt him? He didn't hate him? He could live with Jin for the rest of his life? He felt so overwhelmed that he forgot, once again, that he was supposed to answer.

"So... would you? I mean... Do you want to come home with us?"

He bit his lip, not knowing what to say. Just straight up 'yes'? He wasn't sure if that would suffice- if it would accurately represent his gratitude. He thought he was going to end up alone in the shelter forever. He hadn't even been there yet and he was already dreading it. But here was Namjoon, offering him an out. Offering him a chance to keep the companionships he had formed. Getting him out of his loneliness this early on, and... he just didn't know what to say. He was picking nervously at his teddy bear's ear, biting his lip, when he nodded hesitantly.

This was what he wanted; it was exactly what he wouldn't even let himself dream about. He hadn't even noticed that he was still nodding his head, much faster now than when he had nervously began. He noticed when he looked back towards Namjoon, completely forgetting that it was disrespectful to make eye contact with a human, and reached towards him with his good arm. He didn't know what he wanted, but for some reason, he needed reassurance that he wasn't actually dreaming right now.

Namjoon was grinning widely, taking his hand in his and wow, that feels special, the hybrid thought. A human was touching him and it didn't hurt. It was different than Miss Suzy's touches. This one felt comforting. Hers just felt foreign. Not unpleasant, but not something that he was used to. This, however, he could find himself getting used to in no time. Because he knew that Namjoon wanted to keep him and that it was okay for him to want that too.

"We already named you. Me, Hoseok, and Yoongi-hyung thought about it a lot. We want to call you Jimin. Do you like it?"

"Jimin," he repeated slowly. It was a weird name to him, but now that he thought about it, everyone out here had names like that. Now, he had a name that sounded like Jin's, and Taehyung's, and Namjoon's. It didn't make him sound tough and menacing; it made him sound like he fit in. And he liked that. "Jimin," he said again, a small smile forming on his lips.

Namjoon was grinning widely as well.

"Um... What does.. I mean, what does this mean?" the hybrid asked nervously, though he kept his small grin. He wanted to confirm everything. He wanted to make sure that this meant exactly what he hopes it does.

Namjoon's smile softened to a look that the hybrid- Jimin- honestly wasn't used to receiving. "Well, me and Hoseok and Yoongi-hyung are all your owners now. It's special. I know you say you want this, and I believe you, but remember that there's six of us- seven with you. Are you sure you would be comfortable with that?"

Jimin was nodding again. "Yes, I used to live with lots of hybrids. My last master had 12." He had to admit that this was very different than that, though. Before, none of them talked to one another and they didn't even bother remembering each other's names. However, after spending a couple hours in the presence of Jin, Jungkook, and Taehyung today, he realized that it was expected out here to form bonds with one another. He liked that idea, of course, but it would certainly be different.

Namjoon grimaced at his earlier comment, and Jimin felt bad for eliciting that response. He meant to assure Namjoon that he wanted this, not make him concerned for some odd reason. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't apologize," the human said hurriedly. "You're not doing anything wrong, it just saddens me to know that you haven't lived a happy life so far."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I won't mention it again..." He didn't want to make Namjoon sad.

But the human only shook his head. "It just means that we'll have to try extra hard to make you happy in the future. Besides, we do want you to be able to talk about your past, you know. If it's something that bothers you or makes you unhappy, any of us are more than willing to talk. Just keep that in mind, alright? You are a part of our family now, and I know you don't really know what that means just yet, but you will learn. I promise."

Jimin wanted to cry. He didn't understand; he wasn't upset. He was happy, of course he was. He thought he would never get adopted but here was Namjoon telling him that he wanted him after all, that he could go live with him and Jin. So why were the tears burning behind his eyes? He didn't let them fall, he tried to make sure Namjoon couldn't even tell he had that urge. Not now. He didn't want to risk showing that kind of weakness, because Namjoon could still change his mind at any moment. He didn't trust himself to speak without his voice wavering, so he nodded his head again.

"We'll take you home tomorrow, okay? You just rest well tonight, got it?"

He nodded again, more confidently this time. 

"Great. Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Jimin. I'm glad we could talk like this." The human pulled his hand away from Jimin's (that he honestly didn't notice he was still holding) but only to gently place it on top of his head, petting him softly. The hybrid's head tilted slightly towards the touch, loving the sensation of being pet. The mere idea of appreciating the touch of a human was so foreign to him, but it's definitely something he wants to feel more of in the future. "I'm going to take the others back home now, but don't forget what I said about getting rest. I know the others probably wore you out today, huh?"

Jimin only sighed when Namjoon removed his hand and stood up. He hummed slightly in response to the question. He hadn't realized it earlier, but he was pretty tired already and it was still the middle of the day. He'd have a lot to get used to out here, that's for sure.

"Yes sir, I will rest well." 

"Like I said before, kiddo. There's no need to call me sir."

But he only wanted to be respectful... This man was doing everything for him, and if he didn't want to be called Master, then how should he show that respect? His confusion must have shown, because the human was speaking up again in moments.

"Just call me hyung. We're friends now, right?"

Friends... Friends with his master? His owner? Was that allowed? He supposed it must be, because it was a direct request from his owner. He couldn't be punished for calling him hyung because Namjoon had asked him to. Right? "Yes... hyung. Um.. thank you very much."

He barely caught Namjoons bright grin before the hybrid was blushing and looking down. "No problem, Jimin. We will see you tomorrow. We're all very excited."

But Jimin didn't think any of them were quite as excited as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, it's unedited haha sorry about that. Still, here you go! Please comment :3


	11. Ready

The next afternoon, Suzy was in Jimin's room, moving at nearly a mile a minute to get him ready. She put him through a bath to clean him up and even washed the clothes that Jin and Namjoon had lent him when he came in so that he could put those back on now.

The whole afternoon, he could hardly contain his excitement. Suzy smiled softly as she worked, happy with the way that the hybrid was practically vibrating in anticipation.

He was pretty sure he'd have talked her ear off already had he been secure enough in his thoughts to voice them. Of course he had his hopes and expectations: he wanted to be pet all the time, he wanted to never fight ever again, he wanted to sleep on a fluffy bed, he wanted hot meals, he wanted to have personal relationships with the people he lived with, he wanted to not be afraid...

But embarrassment kept him from saying all of that. He was still so new and inexperienced out here, what if any of his expectations are totally wrong and Suzy would have to point that out? What if he was thinking too positively? No, he didn't want his hopes crushed; he wanted to keep dreaming like this. It made him happy. 

When Suzy was busy brushing out the knots in his tail, his curiosity got the better of him. Maybe he didn't have the courage to ask specific questions, but he could still inquire generally...

"Miss Suzy?"

"Yes, Jimin?"

_Jimin_. He liked hearing that. "Um.. I was just thinking... Well, I was wondering.. What is it like?"

She looked at the hybrid with a fond smile. "What is what like?" She had paused briefly in her brushing, but resumed after a moment, this time holding eye contact.

Jimin looked away, but smiled slightly. "I mean... Having an owner. What's it supposed to be like?" He wasn't certain how he was supposed to feel about having an owner rather than a master. Jin kept implying that it was a great feeling, which is why he was so excited, but what makes it so great? He didn't want to wait and find out, he just wanted to know.

"Well... I guess there's a lot to it," Suzy began. "I think one of the things that's going to change the most is your relationship with your owner. Or... owners. It's very personal, you know? More than just knowing each others' names. It's like... having someone there with you when you need it, to remind you that you are loved and cared for. It's in the little stuff, like the material things, the hugs, the talks."

"I don't think that's little stuff..."

Suzy grinned widely. "Well then you are going to be able to appreciate how hard your owners work to make you happy. I guess that makes it more special."

It was quiet for a while as Jimin took in all of that information. He was beginning to grasp the role of an owner. He liked to think he was fairly independent, but the way that he was treated that first night was so intimate that he didn't think he'd mind it at all. He liked how Jin helped him with his bath and provided him with food and brushed all his fur. If that was what a friend did, he couldn't imagine what it might be like to have an owner-- three of them, nonetheless.

"Don't worry so much, okay?" Suzy continued, her smile softened to show her concern.

Jimin nodded. He wasn't so much worried as he was filled with anticipation, though.

"Really, it's all going to turn out well. Those are some very nice people you've found. Not many humans stay with the stray hybrids they bring in here, so just know that they must like you a whole lot."

The hybrid nodded again, letting her words sink in.

"And remember what we talked about this morning. You remember which one is the shampoo, right? That one is for your hair." 

Jimin smiled slightly, excited that Suzy taught him how to take a bath by himself. He thought it might impress Namjoon, because he already has Jin-hyung who knew all of that already. "Yes ma'am, I remember."

"And remember that if something starts hurting more than usual, you should tell someone. Your body will be healing very well, but don't keep it to yourself if something feels wrong. And make sure your owner remembers to give you your medicine every morning. He should remember on his own, but just in case-- what? Are you laughing at me?"

Jimin covered his mouth with the back of his hand to hide the silent laugh. "I'm sorry Miss Suzy."

Suzy chuckled as well, dropping the hairbrush and standing back up. "Don't apologize, I know I'm being crazy right now. I'm just happy for you. I know you're going to do so well at your new home."

Jimin's hand dropped from his mouth and his smile took on a softer edge, dropping his eyes to the bed. He really hoped so.

* * *

 

"Hyung! Can I come with you when you get Jiminnie??"

Namjoon pried a clingy Taehyung from his arm and laughed at the excitement the hybrid was showing. "I think it's just going to be me and Jin, Tae. We don't want him getting overwhelmed, right?"

Taehyung pouted and dragged his foot along the carpet dejectedly. "Fine."

Jin hopped up from where he was sitting curled up on the couch to reach the younger. "TaeTae, we'll bring him right home, okay? You get to help Hoseokkie with dinner so Jimin has something yummy to eat when he gets back. That's the most important part, really."

"Okay," Taehyung mumbled, though he was smiling again. "But I want to play with him when he gets here."

Namjoon put his hands on the younger hybrid's shoulders. "You can play with him if he wants to. We have a movie prepared, so he might be tired afterwards. If he doesn't want to play, you can't get upset, alright? I'm sure Jungkook would play with you. You still haven't finished your Mario Kart tournament, right?"

"You're right! I call the TV after the movie!" he shouted loud enough for the whole apartment to hear and then bounded off to Yoongi's room to find Jungkook.

Namjoon chuckled and turned to face Jin. "Are you ready?"

Jin only nodded, smiling happily. He was just as excited as Taehyung, but he was better at hiding it. Namjoon saw right through him, though; he knew that Jin was hardly able to contain himself right now. It wasn't until they had both gotten into Namjoon's car that either of them bothered to speak again.

"I know you're not doing this for me, but I still wanted to say thank you," Jin mumbled quietly with sincerity.

Namjoon glanced over at his hybrid as he pulled out of the parking deck. "I'm pretty much warmed up to it by now. I hope you can understand why I was so hesitant at first..."

Jin grimaced at the arguments they had together. Fighting with his owner was always hard on them both, but at least these ones were worth it in the end. "I understand. I'm... I'm sorry too."

"Hey, it's fine. It was all for a good cause, right? And now look at us, on our way to take home a new member of our family."

"Do you think he'll fit in alright?" Jin asked worriedly.

Namjoon smiled softly. "I don't think that will be the problem. You and Tae are bound to make him feel comfortable, and I'm sure Jungkook will get there eventually. Don't worry so much."

"I know. I _am_ excited. You're right."

* * *

 

A knock on the door startled Jimin, who was in the middle of receiving a physical examination from his doctor.

"Come in," the doctor called, not looking away from the hybrid in front of him. "So?"

Jimin had a hard time focusing on the question he had been asked just prior to the knock, and had an even harder time once he saw it was Youngbae who entered. The doctor cleared his throat, and the hybrid snapped his gaze back to him. "Hm?"

"Overall pain. Rate it on a scale of 1 to 10."

"U-Um... Three? I guess?" He didn't know what he was comparing it to.

"Are you sure? I'd expect a slightly higher number at this point."

Jimin was a little nervous. Did he answer incorrectly? He didn't like that Youngbae was standing off to the side watching him fail at interacting with humans, either. He knew he wasn't good at things like that, but having an old rival witness his obvious inferiority was stressful. "S-sorry...? Um, what am I supposed to say?" he whispered to the doctor, hoping Youngbae didn't hear him- or at least not the tremble in his voice. 

"Just be honest. Your chest isn't bothering you here?" he asked, hands wrapping around the other's ribs loosely. Jimin startled at the touch, biting his lip. 

He tried to focus on the doctor and what he wanted. "Uh... I guess... It's okay."

The doctor sighed in frustration at his inability to get a decent answer from the other. "Alright. I'll keep you on the pain medication you have, but if it doesn't get better soon, do tell your owner, okay?"

Jimin nodded dutifully, embarrassed that the older hybrid was still in the room. His cheeks remained a bright shade of red even after the doctor had left the room.

"So..." Youngbae began, smiling softly in a way that almost made Jimin feel as if the older hadn't witnessed anything at all. "Congratulations on the adoption."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Would you mind if I talked to you for a minute?" Youngbae asked hesitantly. Seeing him act nervous sparked something in Jimin. He didn't mean to act so stand-offish with the older, but he couldn't help it considering their history. However, seeing him uncertain reminded Jimin that this was a completely different world. If Youngbae was letting his guard down, Jimin wasn't the one in the vulnerable position. The past few days, he felt that Youngbae felt superior to him in that he was far more experienced with life and could only tell him what to do and how to feel. This time didn't feel like that.

The younger nodded softly, making Youngbae smile and walk closer to take the spot where the doctor had been previously. Sitting down, he sighed slightly. 

"Are you excited?"

He nodded once again.

"That's great news. I'm even excited for you. Do you think you're really ready?"

There it is again. The questions that seemed condescending towards the younger. He kept his mouth shut, avoiding eye contact. He thought this was going to be different. 

"I only ask for your own sake. I just want to make sure you're okay," he was quick to cover up. "It's just... I remember my own adoption, and it was really stressful."

Jimin's ear perked up just a bit, hearing that hint of vulnerability again. 

Youngbae was encouraged to continue, seeing how he had the other's interest again. "I mean, it's definitely the best thing that's ever happened to me, but it wasn't perfect- at least not at first. It's... you know, it's just really hard, I won't lie. Everything is different. It's a good kind of different, but it takes a lot of time and effort to adjust."

"What do you mean?" Jimin mumbled out, not realizing he was getting so into the older's speech. Maybe Youngbae would tell him things that he didn't feel comfortable asking Suzy. 

"Well, for one thing, there's no more fighting. None of it. No secrecy, no late nights, no training, no cages. Not even to assert dominance. I didn't have too much of a problem with that because I am Jiyong's only hybrid, but from what I've heard, you'll be living with three others. The most experience I had with other hybrids was when my owner brought his friend over, and I had a lot of trouble with it at first. I know nothing I tell you know is going to be in the front of your mind when you're faced with a situation where all you can think is self-preservation, but just know that no one is out to hurt you. You should have trust in your owners that they can protect you from harm. That's their job."

Jimin took a deep breath to take in everything he was just told. No fighting. That's what he wanted. "No more?" 

"No more fighting," the older agreed. "If there's anything I can promise you, it's that you are completely, 100% safe from now on." 

Safe sounded nice. It sounded more than nice, really. It sounded perfect- everything he'd been too afraid of even dreaming of. He's never had a protector before, he wondered if it came with the same peace of mind that he hoped it would. Maybe he would sleep better, stop being so aloof all the time. 

Youngbae smiled at the hopeful look on the younger's face. "Sorry if I made you feel inferior in any way at first, but I really do want to help you to be happy in your new life. After everything I've been through, it's all I can do to help others get to the same place."

Jimin tried hard to understand where the older was coming from. It was difficult when he felt so inexperienced and ignorant he was when Youngbae seemed to know everything and more. Taking into account their competitive background together, it was especially difficult to put everything behind him and accept the help he is being offered. Nonetheless, no one else truly understood him. Jin offered him sympathy, and Namjoon treated him as his own already. Taehyung cheered him up, and Jungkook made him feel normal. He thought Hoseok and Yoongi would be very nice too, though he hadn't talked to them very much. But they didn't understand him the way that Youngbae did.

"I'm a little scared," he whispered.

"About what?"

He was chewing on his lip and dropped his eyes down to his lap. "It's just... what if they don't like me after they have to be around me? I mean, I don't know what they want me to act like; they haven't given me any rules yet and I don't even know how to brush my own fur. I'm not a good pet, I'm only good at fighting. What if they decide to kick me out? It'll be different from all those times before. This one would hurt..."

Youngbae's smile took on a softer edge. "That's not going to happen. My owner has been talking to yours, and they're very excited to have you. They already have three very different hybrids, they're not looking for textbook or cookie-cutter. You'll learn what you need to know and they'll be patient with you. They are good humans, I promise. Some of the best you can find."

He didn't know what grounds the older had to say that, but something told him to believe him, if only because it was exactly what he wanted to hear. He nodded slowly, raising his eyes back up. 

"You still have my phone number. Be sure to call me if you ever need it. I will always make time."

Jimin reached out and grabbed the slip of paper on the bedside table and held it tightly in his hand. Another knock on the door startled him, causing him to flinch embarrassingly.

Miss Suzy's head stuck into the room with a huge smile. "Good evening. Guess who's here?"

Jimin's heart was up on his throat as the nurse stepped inside revealing Namjoon and Jin standing behind her.

"Hi," the older hybrid greeted amicably, coming in the room as well.

"Hi," Jimin shyly mumbled back. This was it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers, I apologize for the wait! I've had final exams (plus I've had pneumonia for the past three weeks) and as soon as my finals were over, my computer broke and I wont get it back until January :( so I had to write this on my phone. So I'm sorry if it's shorter than usual, because I usually judge the length of my chapters by how long they look on my computer and everything is thrown off now :/ also there are a lot of typos.


	12. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY.  
> IT'S SO LATE.  
> PLEASE TAKE THIS FLUFF AS A TOKEN OF MY APOLOGIES

Jin hoped that the car ride back to their apartment wasn't awkward for the younger hybrid; he tried to make sure it wasn't. Namjoon drove and Jin sat in the backseat with Jimin so he didn't feel lonely. The radio was turned off so that they could hear one another talk, but there wasn't much talking. Instead, Jimin was pressed against the door and was looking out the window seemingly fascinated at the sights of the city. It was better than the first couple minutes of the ride when he sat with his eyes downcast and wringing his tail gently in his lap with nervous hands. Now, those hands were perched on the door and his breath fogged up the glass a bit.

Jin couldn't stop smiling at the sight and Namjoon would occasionally glance through the rear-view mirror to check on the two in the backseat, always returning his gaze to the road with a grin on his face.

"Jimin, do you want me to open the window?" Namjoon asked, startling the young hybrid whose eyes widened in excitement as he nodded. Namjoon grinned as he shifted to the controls on his door to lower the backseat windows. Jimin moved his face away a little when he noticed the glass moving and inhaled deeply when he caught scent of the outdoor air.

The car was moving pretty slowly seeing as they were in the middle of the city in a fair amount of traffic, but the light breeze was ruffling the young hybrid's hair and the fur on his ears as he leaned his head just outside the car. Jin laughed quiety as he watched, the pink rosiness on Jimin's cheeks from the cold obviously not bothering him. Jimin squinted his eyes as the car picked up a bit of speed and the wind was blowing harder into his face, but he didn't mind it. It felt nice.

Jin and his owner briefly locked eyes in the rear-view mirror, both reminded of the way Taehyung makes them suffer through car trips together by rolling the window down no matter the weather and sticking his head all the way out to watch his ears flop around in the air. Jin wasn't a fan of open windows in the car because it always messed up his perfectly styled hair, but while he had no issue with complaining about Taehyung's habits, he couldn't find it in himself to be annoyed this time.

Taehyung would probably complain of a double standard if he knew that they let Jimin ride all the way home with his feet tucked up under himself and his head out the window without complaining once, but if anything, this is good for Taehyung. The next time they're all in the car together, he'll have someone on his side that no one else can say no to.

"So Jimin, have you had dinner yet?" Namjoon asked from the front, breaking the silence.

"No sir," he replied absentmindedly, not looking away from the people on the sidewalk as they drove by.

"Call me hyung," Namjoon said, reminding himself to be patient with their relationship. "Hoseok and Taehyung are making fried rice with kimchi for dinner, is that something you like?"

Jimin pulled his head inside and looked up towards the front seat with hopeful eyes. "Kimchi?"

"Yeah, you know what that is?"

"Yes sir, Miss Suzy gave it to me lots. I like kimchi."

"Ah, good," Namjoon grinned tightly, trying not to be upset at the continued use of the title 'sir' he was getting from the hybrid. _Be patient. He has time to learn._  "You'll like dinner tonight then." 

Jimin hummed and was moving to put his head back out the window when Jin spoke up, leaning towards him and speaking quietly so his owner didn't hear what he was saying.

"Jimin-ah, I think Namjoon would be very happy with you if you called him hyung now. It makes him feel good to be a hyung because I'm older than him."

Jimin hummed and nodded slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the idea of having a human be his friend. He knew that Namjoon had asked him to call him hyung multiple times now, but it still felt uncomfortable every time he tried to form the word when referencing Namjoon. But he really did just want to be a good pet, and if Jin says that this is what it will take for Namjoon to be happy with him, he should probably try harder.

By the time Jimin had time to process what Jin had told him, they were already pulling into their apartment building's parking garage. Namjoon scored a good spot close to the entrance, and soon enough, the three were unbuckling their seatbelts and getting out of the car (after Jin had insisted that Jimin wear his seatbelt so he could be safe--something he was not used to even though he'd ridden in cars before--Jimin had placed his teddy bear in his lap with the seatbelt over it so that it could be safe too).

Jimin hobbled in between the other two with the help of his crutch that he still felt so awkward using. Nonetheless, he made it to the elevator where they went up to the 8th floor. When they arrived at their front door, Jimin glanced excitedly at the two on either side of him, heart warming when he noticed Jin holding his bear delicately and Namjoon sending him a smile before unlocking the door.

"Honey, I'm home," Namjoon calls out in a joking voice that has Jin laughing and encouraging the younger hybrid to follow his new owner inside. He felt a little more stable with Jin's arm helping to hold him up; he probably noticed how Jimin had been huffing at the effort of moving around on a single crutch with his other arm still in a sling...

Jimin looked down at the wood flooring with a shy smile as Jin led him past some of the other occupants of the apartment straight to the kitchen table where he sat the younger down gently and moved his crutch to rest against the side of his chair. Jimin smiled gratefully. Even though it was hard for him to mentally accept the help he was offered, it was pretty damn easy to accept it physically--at least when it's coming from Jin.

Jimin looked over the spread at the table, a large pan of the promised fried rice in the middle with stacks of plates and utensils beside them. The smell was washing over him, and he was certain he'd never smelled anything so flavorful before. His mouth was watering before he even realized that his stomach was growling.

"Welcome home!" Jimin turned his head to see Hoseok coming over to the table with a tall glass of water. The younger smiled softly at the greeting, loving hearing the word  _home_. He'd heard that word a lot in the past, but it never really felt like this.

"Hi," he mumbled back, brightening up even more when Hoseok handed him the glass of water. Jin watched the encounter with a tight feeling in his chest at the way that the young hybrid seemed so happy to be pampered and have things done for him. The poor kid had probably spent too long being simultaneously oppressed and forced into having more responsibility than any 19 year old  _human_  should have, much less a hybrid animal.

He began drinking the water as Hoseok sat in the chair next to his.

"Are you hungry? Me and TaeTae made a lot of food tonight just in case."

Jimin nodded his head politely, unsure of how to address this particular human. Namjoon didn't like being called sir, so he wasn't certain what to do.

By this time, Namjoon had also made his way into the kitchen and helped Hoseok serve up the plates. "Tae, would you mind telling the others that dinner is ready?" Jin asked from where he was still standing behind Jimin's chair. It was silent following that question, and Jimin let his eyes drift to where Taehyung was standing by the counter, staring at Jin.

"But hyung... Jiminie is here and I haven't gotten to say hi yet."

"Sooo... Say hi, and then go get the others?" the older offered.

Taehyung huffed but smiled anyway. "That's okay, I'll go get them now. But hi, Jiminnie!" he shouted before dashing out of the room. Jimin's 'hello' died on his lips as he other hybrid was gone before he could finish.

"Don't mind him," Hoseok laughed as he slipped a plate full of kimchi fried rice in front of Jimin before grabbing another plate to fill. "I told you he's... all over the place, right?"

"Yes," Jimin mumbled quietly.

"Really, don't worry about it. It's just the way he is. You'll get used to it," Jin assured him.

"No, it's not-" Jimin wanted to say that he wasn't uncomfortable, but just that it was different and weird to him for another canine hybrid to show him any kind of positive attention so Taehyung's extensive energy was just a lot to handle. "It's all okay. Sorry." He didn't want to cause trouble or make anyone think that he was ungrateful on his first day here.

"No need to apologize, just sit tight and enjoy your food," Hoseok assured him, pushing his plate closer and gesturing to the silverware sitting right beside it. Jimin smiled a bit and grabbed his spoon. Jin sat in the chair on his other side and Namjoon slid a full plate over to him as well. Jimin didn't take a bite until Jin started eating. 

Jin thought it was cute how hard the younger was trying to be respectful, but he feared that there might be underlying fear behind his hesitant actions. Nonetheless, he was content to continue assuring Jimin nonverbally that he was doing just fine. He sent a smile to the younger hybrid, laughing a bit when Jimin almost forgot to swallow the food in his mouth before reciprocating it.

Jimin looked away from Jin when Yoongi entered the kitched with Jungkook following close behind, yawning as he clutched the back of his owner's t-shirt. Jin grinned; it was obvious he'd just woken up from a nap- Yoongi no doubt sleeping too. 

Jin thought it was funny how expressive Yoongi was at the moment. Most nights that he came out for dinner, he wouldn't speak. He'd sit at his usual chair and wolf down his food before he participated in conversation or even showed much emotion. Jin was used to it by now, which was why he found it cute how the human waltzed right in with a smile and a warm greeting.

"Hey guys. And welcome back, Jiminnie."

Jimin looked up shyly with his spoon still in his mouth.

Jungkook stopped rubbing at his eye and gave a tiny, shy smile as well before returning his expression to neutral. The two also sat at the table, Taehyung bounding in right after and practically falling into the chair on the other side of Hoseok.

It took a little longer that it should have for Hoseok and Namjoon to finish serving up the food with the way that Hoseok kept having to smack Taehyung's wandering hands away from the pan at the center of the table trying to sneak a taste, but it wasn't long before everyone was eating together.

"So Jiminnie, do you want to watch a movie tonight?" Taehyung asked with his floppy ears perked up after he was already a few bites into his dinner. Jin was surprised he'd gone even this long without saying anything to the new hybrid.

"I'm sorry?" Jimin mumbled confusedly at the same time Jin shot a look at Taehyung with a whisper of "chew and swallow!"

Taehyung made a big show out of swallowing the bite in his mouth and then opening it wide to prove to Jin that he was clean before speaking again. "A movie. I couldn't pick one out yet because I didn't know what kind of movies you like. We have Transformers. And Harry Potter. And I think-"

"Tae," Hoseok mumbled in a low voice, silently noting Jimin's increasingly confused expression. "Cool it." 

Taehyung huffed and his ears dropped back to normal.

"We could always just put on something Disney?" Jin suggested. He wanted to be very careful about what they showed Jimin. The kind of violence in the movies Taehyung liked to watch would be entertaining to the rest of them, but it might send mixed messages to Jimin.

"No!" Taehyung spoke up again, regaining his excitement. "Hoseokkie-hyung just bought me a collection of Studio Ghibli movies! Can we watch the one with the big grey thing with the ears and the whiskers?"

Jin left Hoseok and Taehyung to the discussion while Jungkook whined about that being a 'little kid movie' and turned his attention towards Jimin, who was shrinking back in his seat. "Are you okay?"

Jimin's eyebrows were furrowed in a way that made him look concerned and a little frightened, but he nodded jerkily at Jin's question.

Jin smiled softly, trying to guess what the problem could be. Overwhelmed? In pain? Just plain confused? "Have you watched movies before?" he decided to ask. Honestly if his lack of exposure to things that were commonplace to them is anything to go by, he may not even know what a movie is.

This time, Jimin shook his head slowly.

Jin grinned wider, not wanted to make Jimin feel bad but unable to contain his emotions at how precious and cute and innocent his new dongsaeng was. "That's okay. Don't worry about it right now. Just finish eating you dinner, ok? I promise it's something fun."

"Yes hyung," Jimin agreed willingly, sitting up straighter and shoveling a huge bite of rice into his mouth. 

Jin's ears slowly became readjusted to the continued conversation going around at the table outside of his moment with Jimin. "Okay guys," Jin interrupted. "Let's watch the Totoro one," he said once he had everyone's attention. "It'll be Jiminnie's first movie."

Taehyung grinned widely while Jungkook groaned a drawn out 'fiiiine.' Namjoon smiled warmly, reaching over to fluff the hair between Jin's ears. 

Once they were done eating, Yoongi and Namjoon took Jimin to see his new bedroom while Hoseok set up the movie.

"I hope you don't mind the bland color," Namjoon said as he opened the last door in the short hallway. "It's still a beige from when we moved in; we've never really had a reason to redecorate, but if you want it to be a nicer color, we can definitely do that at some point."

He stepped aside once he entered the room to allow Jimin inside with Yoongi following.

"What is this?" Jimin asked shyly, holding his tail in front of him nervously with his free hand, leaning against the wall instead of his crutch.

"It's your room," Yoongi clarified. "This is yours now."

"What is mine?"

"The whole thing. The walls, the bed, that closet, the dresser, the floor even," Namjoon said with a smile. "Sorry we only have a mattress for now, but we already ordered a bedframe for it, and it'll be here before next week. But we got a bunch of blankets for you. It won't be cold."

Jimin's jaw dropped. "M-My bed? I can sleep in here?" He couldn't take his eyes off of the well-made mattress on the floor. Way better than the mats against the hard floor or the cots pushed against concrete walls in freezing basements. This bed had to have been at least three or four times bigger than any of the places he'd slept in his entire life.

"Yeah. The whole room. Here," Yoongi said, moving towards the big wooden dresser, opening a few drawers. "We didn't know your exact size, so there's some of my extra stuff in here, some of Namjoon' s, and Jungkook gave some too. It's just t-shirts and lounge pants, but we can take you shopping whenever you want to get some new clothes for you."

Jimin was speechless, hobbling further into the room to look around.

"Jiminnie," Namjoon's voice took on a more serious note and Jimin whipped back around to look at him, almost losing his balance. Serious is never something good. "Jiminnie, we just wanted you to have a safe place of your own. I mean- we want this whole apartment to be safe for you, but if you ever... I don't know,  _don't_ feel safe for any reason, then you can come in here. This is all yours and no one is allowed inside unless you say so."

Jimin really didn't know what to say. He bit his lip and looked over to Yoongi, who slowly and silently slid the drawers closed and gave the hybrid a reassuring smile and nod. 

"So what do you say we go see that movie now? You'll love it," Namjoon easily changed the subject and lightened up the mood, mistaking his silence for discomfort.

"Th-Thank you, um... hyung. I'm very happy," Jimin spoke in a small voice, looking back to Namjoon, who was grinning so wide the hybrid thought he might split his face. So Jin was right, it really would make him happy to be called hyung.

"Well I'm very happy, too," the human said. "I have no doubts that you're going to do well here. This place will be feeling like home to you in no time."

It was already feeling like home to him.

After matches when Jimin would be shoved back in the car, his master would tell him that they were going home. Honestly, he'd thought the word itself was supposed to have a negative connotation behind it, that  _home_ was just a place to sleep, to train, or to receive punishment.  He liked hearing it from these people, though. The last time he was here, he had a warm, soapy bath and two hot meals, and he even slept in a big bed with big blankets and everything. If this was what  _home_ meant for people out here, then maybe he's been wrong all along. Maybe  _home_ was a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had pneumonia basically all winter, from thanksgiving all the way to January, but then my computer broke and I didn't get it fixed until the end of February, and then there were midterms at school, and then I had rehearsals starting for the two shows I'm in right now and OMG. Guys my life needs to chill.


	13. Sleepy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First person to read this and comment is my 100th comment on this story!  
> Go go go!!!!!

That night, Jimin had to retire to his bed immediately following the film.

He was feeling pretty drained. He tried staying up to chat with the others but Jin had noticed his quietness and drowsy eyes. To be honest, he was just a little confused about the movie still, but Jin wasn't entirely wrong in his speculations. 

Unfortunately, as tired as he was, Jimin wasn't able to sleep for quite a while after getting in bed. He was wearing fuzzy socks that Taehyung had lent him and a big sweater from Namjoon, but even in those cozy clothes curled up under two soft blankets, sleep eluded him.

The house was quiet and dark, the only sound being that of the heater running. It was rare that he have difficulty sleeping, because his body was usually so exhausted that he'd fall asleep the moment he laid down, but this healing process was making him simultaneously drained and restless.

Jimin would like to say that he was rather comfortable here, but he still felt so out of place around these people. They were all so close with one another already, and even though it was obvious they were trying their best to include him, he didn't have a history with them like they did with each other. His mind kept reminding him of that every so often. He hated that he thought like that, because he was trying so hard to fit in and be happy so why was his own brain telling him otherwise? 

Another thing he couldn't get out of his head even though he'd only been here for a few hours was their stark differences in intelligence. He didn't understand why there was so much of a contrast between him and everyone else. Even just this evening, Namjoon had used 12 words that Jimin had never heard before- he counted. What else could he do with his embarrassment? He wasn't going to ask when everyone else knew what they meant; it would just make all of them realize how dumb he is. It was the same with the movie they watched. Taehyung said it was one of his favourite movies ever, but Jimin didn't understand a single word.

Jimin let out an audible sigh and snuggled further into his blankets.

* * *

 

"Do you think we should wake him up?" Taehyung asked Jungkook as they ate breakfast on the sofa the next morning.

"No, he's just being a lazy ass," Jungkook grumbled, trying to keep his voice down because his owner was-

"Jungkook!" Yoongi raised his voice from where he was on his laptop in the kitchen. "Are you being a dick again?"

"Of course not, hyung," Jungkook put on his best innocent voice. He heard Yoongi grunt in a way that sounded noncommittal. Jungkook sighed and pulled an angry face, making Taehyung laugh at him.

"You're so cute, Jungkookie. I wonder if Jiminnie thinks so too- let's go wake him up!" he cheered, standing up. Jungkook rolled his eyes, grabbing onto Taehyun's shirt sleeve and tugging him back down to sit on the sofa without taking his eyes off the television.

Taehyung huffed. "Why not? I'm so bored, I just want to play!"

"Would you calm down? It's not even 10:00. Just do what you normally do; you did just fine before he got here," Jungkook said in a bored yet bitter tone. Taehyung whined as he flopped around on the sofa. "But I  _am_ doing what I normally do! It's just not the same when I know Jiminnie is here now and I have so many of my toys to show him and he hasn't even seen my room yet. Do you think he'd watch anime with me, Jungkookie?"

Jungkook's disinterested grimace did nothing to dissuade his whining. "No one wants to watch Naruto with you, hyung, not even the newbie."

"Quit calling him the newbie," Yoongi's disinterested voice calls out from the kitchen again.

"Seriously hyung, are you just eavesdropping on everything today?" Jungkook hollered back.

"Only on you being an ass."

Jin stumbled out of his bedroom and into the common area at that moment, ruffling his own hair in an attempt to get the bedhead under control. "Who the hell is yelling?" he whines cutely, which makes Namjoon coo from where he was sitting at the kitchen table across from Yoongi, scrolling through his phone. "Oh shut up," Jin retorted playfully as he rolled his eyes, but obeyed when Namjoon beckoned him over with his hands, ending up in his owner's lap.

"Hyung was just telling Jungkook to stop acting like a kid," Namjoon explained helping Jin sort his hair out to have some semblance of normalcy as the cat hybrid purred at the attention.

"I fucking heard that, hyung. This doesn't involve you," Jungkook snapped back from the living room.

"My house, my problem. Watch your mouth, maknae."

Jin giggled at the playful argument. "Am I the last one up?" he pouted at Namjoon.

The human smiled sweetly up at him. "Nope, Hoseok and Jimin are still asleep. Tae and Kookie are eating cereal, but I was thinking about making something for everyone else. What would you want?"

"Sausages!" Taehyung gasped from the living room, and the sound of him rolling off the sofa was the only heads up to the way he came crashing into the kitchen. "Sausages." 

"You already ate, dummy," Yoongi quipped, sipping his coffee and browsing his social media sites on his laptop open on the table.

Taehyung whimpered pitifully. "Second breakfast?"

"You watched that movie, like, twice," Namjoon commented, not looking away from where he was working on Jin's hair that had all his attention.

"Nine times, actually. Just like the nine rings that were given to-"

"For the love of all things good and holy, can you stop being a fucking dork for like, ten minutes?" Jungkook groaned, laying down along the length of the couch now that Taehyung wasn't there to take up the space.

Taehyung's face scrunched up for a second. "Five. I can do five minutes."

Jin was laughing again, pleased at the progression of the usual morning banter. "Sausages sound pretty good, Namjoonie. Can you make us some?"

Namjoon rolled his eyes, prompting Jin to get up off of his lap. "Fine. But we need something else too, can you grab some leftovers in the fridge? There should be some kimchi and a container of guksu from lunch the other day, I think it's still in the takeout box."

* * *

 

Hoseok had woken within the hour and joined the rest for breakfast, but Jimin still hadn't left his room until even after their lunch went cold. 

Namjoon got a little worried at that point. He understood up until this point because Jimin was still recovering, after all. And yesterday must have been tiring, too. But he had to give the hybrid his medication for his pneumonia every day, and he can't do that if he's not awake for the day... At least that's how he justified his actions.

He knocked on the door and there was no answer. A little louder, and still nothing. Namjoon cracked the door open and peeked inside, relaxing slightly when he realized that Jimin was still sound asleep curled up on the middle of the mattress.

"What's up?" Namjoon turns his head to see Hoseok walking down the hallway from the bathroom, still drying his hair with a white towel.

Namjoon beckoned him over with a quick head movement. "Look at this," he said. "Kid's knocked out cold."

Hoseok stuck his head inside the bedroom also, and Namjoon had to pull him back laughing as he covered the other man's mouth to keep him from squealing. "What a fucking cutie," Hoseok whisper-yelled. "Did you see his ears?"

Namjoon grinned looking back towards Jimin to see his right ear twitch every so often. He was about to step inside the room to wake him up when he remembered telling the young hybrid that no one would come into his room without his permission- and that included Namjoon. Now, he wasn't about to betray his trust on his first full day home.

"Jimin," Namjoon called softly, repeating it slightly louder when it elicited no response.

"Hmmmmm," came a mumble from the bed as Jimin buried his face under the blanket, his tall ears all that was visible now. Hoseok was silently dying on the floor at this point and Namjoon grinned wider as he stepped over his body into Jimin's room a bit.

"It's time to wake up, Jimin. Can I come in?" There was a slight nod and Namjoon came further in to kneel at the side of the mattress. "Good morning sleepy head. It's already 1:30 in the afternoon."

Jimin had been groggily waking himself up, but when he heard the time, he sat up. "I'm sorry, hyung! I didn't mean to sleep so late." His ears were flattening and Namjoon fought the urge to ruffle his hair. "No need to apologize," the human assured him. "I just brought your medicine. Can you take that for me now?"

Jimin nodded obediently and Namjoon handed him the little plastic disposable medicine cup filled with a sickly-looking pink liquid. Jimin frowned as he drank it and Namjoon handed him an opened bottle of water that he'd brought. "Thank you." The hybrid raised it up and tried to waterfall it into his mouth but Namjoon chuckled and pushed the plastic bottle to Jimin's lips. The boy looked startled, jumping at the sudden movement and eyes widening when he found the bottle being pressed to his face. It was unsanitary, hybrids weren't supposed to spread their germs like this. But... Namjoon told him to...

"Are you hungry?" Namjoon asked kindly, to which Jimin shyly nodded his head.

"A little bit."

"Taehyung made a huge pot of ramyun for lunch; he said he'd eat it all himself but of course there's tons left over. Would you like a bowl?"

Jimin opened his mouth to answer but felt a bit self conscious all of a sudden. "N-No, I don't want to take his-... It's okay."

Namjoon cocked his head to the side as soon as Jimin had refused the offer for food. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that. He's finished. He let me and Yoongi-hyung have some too. Taehyung is good at sharing."

Jimin bit his lip and nodded once, standing up after Namjoon and following him to the door. He paused before exiting, looking at Namjoon's clothes and then down at his own. Namjoon was wearing jeans and a sweater- different from what he'd been wearing for bed, Jimin remembered that. He'd never lived somewhere with different clothes for day and night, and he wasn't certain on the rules. Should he put on clothes like that...?

Namjoon noticed that he stopped and turned around to see Jimin inspecting himself. He grinned. "Don't worry, Tae's still in his pajamas too. Come on."

Jimin followed once again, shuffling across the hardwood floor in his borrowed fuzzy socks. He was nervously clutching the ends of the sweater sleeves that he'd easily pulled over his hands. What would they think of him, lazily sleeping the whole day away while everyone else had work to do?

Jin had already put the pot of ramyun back on the stove when Namjoon said he was going to wake Jimin up, so it was already close to being warm again. "Hi Jimin, did you sleep well?" the older hybrid asked kindly as he and Namjoon entered the kitchen.

"Yes, hyung," Jimin replied quietly with an embarrassed flush to his cheeks

"I want to eat with Jiminnie!" Taehyung shouted running to the kitchen from his bedroom.

Jin rolled his eyes, stirring the contents of the pot a bit. "You already ate, Tae.  _A lot_."

"Yeah," Taehyung said in a 'duh' tone, "but I can't just let him eat alone, that would be rude. We can eat and watch Running Man!"

"You and your tv," Jin mumbled under his breath, taking down two bowls nonetheless. "Go put it on, I'll come and watch too." Jin didn't need to tell Taehyung that he would only be coming to make sure he didn't accidentally traumatize Jimin when they're alone.

Taehyung cheered and jumped over the back of the sofa in his excitement at having someone to watch his shows with him for once. It got just a little lonely during the days when Hoseok was at work teaching kids or whatever. He was usually the only one to indulge Taehyung.

"Come on," Jin encouraged Jimin to follow him to the living room after he'd filled the two bowls. He sat in the middle of the couch, putting the food on the coffee table and patting the spots next to him for the two dog hybrids to take each side. 

Taehyung happily hopped into place on one side of the couch, grabbing his next bowl of ramyun and only minorly grumbling about how he couldn't sit next to Jimin. He got to the right tv channel just as Jimin sat in the other spot on the sofa, Jin handing him his food.

"Thank you hyung," he mumbled and watched Taehyun digging in before taking a bite of his own.

"Tae, slow down. this is literally your fourth meal today. You're going to get a stomach ache," Jin advised before he sat back against the cushions defeatedly at Taehyung's answering pout.

"So this is Running Man!" the over-excited hybrid exclaimed when the commercial had ended. "It's like, my favourite show right now."

Jimin nodded slowly, furrowing his eyebrows when the men on the screen showed up. These looked like real people, but the people in the movie yesterday certainly didn't. He didn't necessarily want to sit around and guess how the tv worked. It was like a big phone, like the one that Namjoon had. That's all. The next thing that he noticed was that he understood what they were saying.

Maybe Taehyung's eyes were (figuratively) glued to the screen, but Jin- attentive as always- noticed Jimin's obviously confused expression. "I know it's a weird show, but I'm sure you'll get used to it," he laughed.

"Ah, no!" Jimin gasped embarrassedly. "It's not- not that. Um, it's just different from yesterday..."

Jin cocked his head to side a bit in understanding. "Oh, the movie we watched yesterday was an animation. They drew it and made it all with a computer. Also, that one was in Japanese." Jimin's continued confusion made Jin smile slightly, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable. "It was a different language, that's why there were subtitles." Once again, Jimin only blinked at him. "It was translating it into our language. That's why there were Korean words at the bottom."

Jimin thought back, remembering the familiar characters at the bottom of the screen. He was quiet as he pondered. He sees the characters everywhere- always has. They're on buildings and paper and on his hyungs' phones. He suddenly had a feeling that they meant something more than he thought and couldn't help but feel ashamed- as if the whole world was in on a secret that he knew nothing about. The television was suddenly background noise as Jimin shrunk in on himself, food forgotten in his lap as his face flushed heavily.

Jin watched hesitantly, wanting to reach towards the small hybrid who seemed to want to make himself even smaller all of a sudden, but Jin didn't want to scare him. "Jimin... Don't take this... Well, I mean, I don't mean for this to sound offensive, but do you know how to... read?"

Jimin looked up at Jin, his tall ears pressing flat against his head in embarrassment.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Jimin," Jin cooed. "But what about the movie? Do you speak Japanese?"

Jimin looked away from Jin's eyes as he shook his head. Should he have said something last night after all?

"Aw, well I'm sorry we didn't ask. Why didn't you say something?"

Normally, Jimin would remain silent and be lectured, but Jin seemed worried. "Jungkook said that it was for kids. I thought I was being- well... Sorry."

"Don't apologize!" Jin insisted, and Jimin was getting a little sick of hearing that phrase over and over again from everyone. "It's not a big deal and I'm sure Namjoon will be happy to teach you. He's very smart."

"No!" Jimin pleaded, looking back up and almost spilling his lunch in his hurry. "Please don't tell him, hyung."

Taehyung had apparently tuned into their conversation by that point even though he was still watching his show with rapt interest. "Namjoonie-hyung taught me how to tie my shoes. I was wearing sandals and zip-up boots my whole life until a couple years ago," he commented casually.

 _I can tie my shoes_ , Jimin thought. He learned it when he was still a little kid- when he had to start training. He thought tying your shoes was common knowledge, probably the same thing Taehyung thought about reading the characters. "Really?" Jimin asked for clarification- just to make sure Taehyung wasn't just saying it to make him feel less embarrassed.

"Yep. I never had to tell Hoseokkie hyung that I didn't know how because I always picked my own shoes when we went shopping," Taehyung confirmed, finally turning away from the tv to look at the other hybrid. "Do you want the rest of my ramyun? I'm full," Taehyung said with a pout, holding out his half-empty bowl towards Jimin.

Jimin suddenly remembered about his own food, looking down into his full bowl. "Oh! N-No thank you, I still have..." he trailed off, deep in thought already. Taehyung had changed the topic as if it wasn't significant at all. Jin had even said that it wasn't a big deal. So... Maybe it wasn't.  Jimin took a slow bite of his noodles, eyes drifting back to the show that was still playing.

"If you change your mind, don't hesitate to talk to me or Namjoonie, okay?" Jin said.

Jimin hummed his agreement. Maybe if he learned to read those characters then he wouldn't feel so different. It would just be one less thing to worry about, right? Maybe he could start fitting in better. He'd have to go talk to Namjoon about it soon. He taught Taehyung how to tie his shoes without making him feel bad about it, so he must really be smart like Jin said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I the only one that thinks that Taehyung would totally be a Lord of the Rings nerd if he was raised with the English language?
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, here you go. Thanks guys :)
> 
> Also, one of my best friends painted her nails based on Fire the other day and it was so freaking cool. ([here](https://www.instagram.com/p/BFMce07sFt2/?taken-by=ellisy_lsc&hl=en)) She's legit 2 years younger than me, I guess that tells you something about our talent gap xD ughhh
> 
> ALSO do you guys feel all special when an author that you love gives you kudos? Like, you think of them as a celebrity because their stories are amazing, and here they are reading your trash?? xD Exaggeration, but you know what I mean. Or you don't and I just sound like an idiot. That's more likely hahaha


	14. Selfies

Closer to evening, Yoongi and Jungkook returned home from their outing with a surprise for Jimin. When Yoongi called Jimin's name, the hybrid obediently hopped up from the couch- probably too quickly, seeing as he stumbled upon putting weight on his still injured ankle.

Luckily, Namjoon had been approaching to see what Yoongi and Jungkook had bought and was able to steady the hybrid. "Why aren't you wearing your sling? And that crutch of yours isn't just an accessory, you know; it's there to help you," the human chastised, sounding exasperated.

Jimin's ears fell flat as he looked at Namjoon apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir... I forgot," he mumbled. He really just didn't think it was necessary. Things always heal on their own- eventually. So what if he has a couple bones repaired slightly out of place? He can use his body just fine and that dumb sling wasn't making anything stop hurting. It was just uncomfortable to have it on and still try to use that crutch. He felt so clumsy with them and clumsy people can't defend themselves when faced with an opposing force.

He just... didn't think it'd be a big deal if he didn't use them. Glancing up at Namjoon however proves that that's simply not the case. He lowers his eyes again out of respect and shame and waits for Namjoon to continue scolding him, but it doesn't happen. As much as he wants to know the human's reaction, he doesn't want to look back up at his face for fear of being seen as disobedient. They've been lax about the eye contact that all previous masters forbade, but he's not willing to push his luck just now.

He gripped his injured arm nervously when instead of punishment, Namjoon puts his large hand right on top of his head to ruffle his hair. Jimin curses himself for flinching at the contact, expecting something more sharp. He bites his lip, wishing that he could believe everyone who has told him thus far that he doesn't have to worry about getting hurt anymore. 

"I'll go put it on now," he stutters out, slipping away from the human's hand and awkwardly shuffling past Jin and Taehyung who are still seated on the sofa and then around Yoongi and Jungkook who stand beside it to get to his room. He'd kept his head down but had hardly avoided the confused and concerned looks he received on his way out of the living room with his tail practically between his legs.

It was stupid, getting upset over something like this, but he had been too comfortable, it seems. They had expressed that he was free to do as he pleased, and he just didn't want to wear the arm sling. He thought it would be okay. It was stupid of him to think it would be. There will always be limitations.

He struggled trying to pull the strap over his head after putting his arm in the sling part, but he couldn't seem to make it fit over. It was tugging too hard on his shoulder and it hurt. He kept getting more tangled up and more frustrated until he threw the fabric down onto his mattress with a huff, slumping down next to it. He rubbed his shoulder gently in a futile attempt to stop the throbbing that had started as soon as he began struggling with the sling. He never should have taken it off in the first place, but it was so uncomfortable to sleep with.

It was dumb and he knew it. It was so dumb, but he couldn't help but get a little upset.

A knock at the door had his ears dropping once again as he slouched into himself. "Hello?" he called out in invitation.

The door opened a crack and Jimin saw Hoseok peeking his head through. "Hey Jiminnie. Namjoon-ah told me to come check on you. Is everything okay?" The human took note of the way the hybrid sat criss-crossed and slouched on his bed, his arm's sling flung onto the blanket next to him. 

Jimin nodded in response to the question. He didn't need to be made fun of right now- he could figure this thing out himself. 

"Can I come in and help?" Hoseok asked, and Jimin's resolve cracked a little. He sounded so genuine. And Hoseok hadn't made fun of him yet. 

He nodded once again, grabbing the sling and handing it over to the human, who came in and sat down beside him on the bed. Hoseok took the sling and turned his body towards the hybrid. "Here," he spoke quietly. Jimin made to put his arm inside, but Hoseok stopped him. "Put it around your neck first. It's easier to get it on that way." Surely enough, it took only seconds to get it on painlessly, and Jimin glanced up at the human gratefully, his ears still low on his head.

Hoseok noticed the silent thanks and grinned widely. "See? It's not so hard. I promise that whatever Namjoon said, he probably didn't mean it."

"He didn't say anything," Jimin protested, because he didn't. It wasn't the human's fault. He took more freedom than he was given and it was clearly his own fault. "It was my fault," he insisted.

"Don't be silly. I don't blame you for not wanting to wear this dumb thing," Hoseok replied, smile still present on his face and Jimin took careful notice of how lightly he was taking this situation.

He disobeyed orders, didn't he? 

"Don't worry though," the human continued. "You won't have to wear it for much longer. You're almost as good as new. We'll go to the doctor in a few days and see if you are fully healed by then."

One of Jimin's ears had raised slightly, turning out towards Hoseok in hopefulness.

"I'm sorry," he apololgized, just in case. Hoseok hadn't shown any signs of being angry at him (and neither had Namjoon, now that he thinks about it). He beats himself up inside even more when he fully realized just how much he had blown this out of proportion in his mind.

"That's okay," Hoseok assured him. "Yoongi-hyung told me he got you a gift today. Do you want to go see?"

Jimin's tail thumped once on the bed in excitement before he calmed himself. "No, that's okay." He was feeling a little embarrassed about the way he acted and wasn't ready to face the others. He wanted to see what this gift was, if it was something as lovely and special as his teddy bear, but he didn't deserve a gift after how silly he'd just been acting.

Hoseok frowned cutely. "Why not?" he whined.

"I don't deserve it right now," Jimin replied truthfully. "I will do better."

"Aw, of course you deserve it! Gifts are good for cheering people up." Hoseok reached forward and the hybrid ducked his head down to allow himself to be pet more easily. "Weren't you feeling sad just now?"

"It's because I did something wrong, though. Namjoon-sshi told me that I should always wear this arm thing but I didn't. Miss Suzy told me I have to wear it too and I still took it off. I was being bad. It was hard to sleep with it though. And now I'm being stupid too, I keep thinking weird," he pouted, not quite realizing he was ranting. "I'm really sorry. I promise I won't take it off again." He knew justifying your bad behavior wasn't acceptable, but he thought that it would be easy to convince Hoseok as opposed to any previous master. He seemed pretty open to negotiation.

"It's not a big deal, Jimin," Hoseok said, looking confused. "Really, no one is angry. Not me, not Namjoon, and not Miss Suzy. You didn't do anything wrong, okay?" He waited until he saw Jimin nod slowly before he continued. "What.. Well, what exactly do you mean by 'thinking weird?'" he asked cautiously, continuing to stroke through the hybrid's hair in an attempt to get him to open up more- make him feel more comfortable in his presence. He tried not to smile too noticably at the way his ears would twitch whenever he pet the fur on them.

Jimin still wouldn't look the human in the eyes as he sighed. "I don't think like the others," he mumbled, looking at Hoseok's lap instead. "I don't think like Jin-hyung and Taehyung. I do things like this and they don't."

"Things like what?" he asked gently, pleased that he was able to coax the hybrid's ears up from where they were previously laying flat. That was a good sign, right?

"Things like... I- I don't know... Just..."

When he sighed and couldn't find the words to continue, Hoseok cocked a grin. "You're not overreacting, you know."

"Y-Yes I am. I- I don't know the rules and I'm breaking them anyway-"

"No. Want to know why the others don't act like this? It's because they were raised by us. Because they've been told their whole lives that the only thing they can ever do wrong is doubt themselves. You have years worth of praise to catch up, and that's no one's fault but the humans who raised you," Hoseok ensured him. "Wait here," he demands, leaping up and jogging to the door and calling for Taehyung. It didn't take long for the other hybrid to join them.

"Sup?" he asked casually, strolling inside the room as his owner closed the door behind him.

Jimin was watching with confusion and a little bit of awe at the way Hoseok was speaking to him. 

"I want you to talk to Jiminnie about your previous owner."

Taehyung stood up straighter in interest, his ears perked. "They were pretty old. So many rules, though. No eating dessert without permission, no yanking the curtains down even when they ignored me, no running around inside past 10:00 at night, no splashing the bathwater, no walking around the house naked-"

"And?" Hoseok interrupted, prompting him to get to the point and taking his place on Jimin's mattress once again. "What did that teach you?"

"That they were really fucking boring."

Hoseok rolled his eyes at the language. "Did you do those things anyway?"

"Hell yeah. Nobody succeeds at making me keep my clothes on."

Hoseok turned back to Jimin, actively choosing to ignore the odd way that Taehyung worded his answer. "When my family adopted him, he was crazy, I swear. Eleven years old and still trashing the house." He continued despite Taehyung's scoff. "The reason that my mom wasn't so strict about it is because she believes that we should learn what's right and wrong ourselves, and she understood that he was only acting out because that was the only way to get attention from his previous owners. Of course we gave him enough love for him to realize that he didn't have to go to such extreme measures, but it took a while for him to get used to the new enviroment."

"One time I hid his Nintendo DS just so we could spend time together looking for it," Taehyung added, still looking a little smug about that one.

"See? Nobody is perfect, Jiminnie. Especially when you're acting on an instinct that your past has taught you to use. Of course it's going to seem like you're different from the others for a while but that's because it's true. Every single person _is_ different from everyone else- it's not just you. We all have different experiences that dictate the way we act now, and there's nothing wrong with that. The only reason we want to make sure you wear this sling is for your health and safety. Do you get it? You didn't do bad, and you're not overreacting. It was just a minor correction, and now you know for the future. I'm sure you had your reasons."

 _Minor correction_ , Jimin repeated in his head.  _Not rule-breaking_. He was quiet as he thought. 

"I don't know about you," Hoseok said after he left a long silence, "but I'm curious about what Yoongi-hyung got you today. Want to come see with me?"

The hybrid bit his lip, looking between Taehyung and Hoseok. They both sported equally contagious smiles, and he found the end of his own lips turning up just a bit. He nodded his head, reaching out hesitantly with his good arm towards Hoseok once the human had stood. He smiled widely, taking Jimin's hand and helping him to stand as well.

The hybrid hoped Hoseok didn't mind that he didn't let go even as they made to leave the bedroom. He was still a little scared about the possibility of Namjoon being angry with him, but he hoped Hoseok would defend him if anything were to happen. He followed behind slowly, being gentle on his hurt ankle and keeping his eyes trained low.

"Hi!" Yoongi greeted when they'd made it back to the living room. Jimin peeked around Hoseok hesitantly to see nothing negative on the other human's face and stepped a bit closer.

"Are you ready?" Yoongi asked, holding up a small generic black plastic shopping bag and shaking it teasingly. When Jimin held eye contact in expectation, Yoongi reaches inside and pulls out a box. "Come sit," he invites, scooting over on the couch to allow room for Jimin to join him. He does, but he still hasn't released Hoseok's hand.

"Look, it's your own cellphone," Yoongi continues, opening up the box and taking out the device. "They're pretty expensive so this is an older model, but I put you on my plan with Jungkook. You can make as many phone calls as you want, but if you want to play games, you might just have to borrow someone else's. I don't know what you kids do now anyway." (Yoongi effectively ignores Jungkook's mumbling of 'you say that like you're 50, hyung.')

Jimin watches on in fascination as he turns on the phone and the screen lights up. "Anyway, I programmed in all of our numbers, and even Youngbae and Jiyong-hyung's just in case." The hybrid wasn't totally certain what the point of a phone was except to talk to other people, so he sat patiently as Yoongi explained how to make a phone call. He looked disheartened when he realized he had no idea which number belonged to whom seeing as he couldn't read the names beside them. While Yoongi clicked on his own number as a demonstration, Jimin looked up a little desperately and caught Jin's eyes across the room.

"Um... Why don't we all take pictures for our contact photos?" The eldest supplied helpfully, sending a wink towards Jimin. "That way, you just have to click on our pictures."

He missed Namjoon's suspicious glance towards Jin because Taehyung was immediately rushing towards them in excitement yelling "Yes! I wanna take a selfie first!" He snatched the phone out of Yoongi's hand and made a funny face in front of the screen before passing it off to Jungkook. Jimin watched confusedly as they each stared straight at the screen for a few seconds. When the device made its way back to Yoongi, he handed it to Jimin and showed him the screen which displayed the expressions each of them had on their faces just moments prior saved on the phone itself next to the numbers. His eyes widened- how did they do that?

Teahyung laughed at his expression, jumping onto the sofa onto his other side and reaching over to swipe his thumb up on the screen and it suddenly changed from a list of contacts to a...  _a mirror?_

Jimin watched on fascinated as he saw the top of his own head on the screen, face taking on an even more shocked expression when Taehyung tilted the phone down a bit and it showed both of their faces in their entirity. 

He let out a delighted noise and allowed Taehyung to take the phone from him. He was too busy focusing on his reflection that he didn't realize until Teahyung exited from the screen and showed him a still picture of their faces together.

"Do it again!" Jimin demanded excitedly, poking at the screen uselessly until Taehyung brought the mirror back up again.

"I'm in Jiminnie's first selfie!" Taehyung cheered happily, and Jimin continued to make weird faces with the other hybrid before they scrolled through all of the pictures they took together. 

Yoongi stood up from the sofa, seeing as his work was done. Jimin was absolutely absorbed in taking pictures with Tae that he bounced happily on the cushions, pulling his legs up under him to get a better angle.

He walked into the kitchen followed by Namjoon, the exlamations of "I like this one best!" and "I want to be in one too!" still coming from the living room. 

"You didn't have to do that, hyung," Namjoon said, looking at Yoongi pointedly. 

"Of course I did," the other protested.

"Still," Namjoon sighed. "How much did that cost you? We could split it."

Yoongi rolled his eyes. "Hardly anything, honestly. It's used and three years old. Don't tell Jimin," he laughs.

"He wouldn't mind, you know that," Namjoon replies, relaxing after hearing that he hadn't spent a fortune on the phone. "He'd be happy if you got him a plastic bag."

Yoongi's smile dropped at the grim humor- and the fact that it was probably entirely true. In the next moment, Hoseok was strolling into the kitchen and a burst of laughter from the hybrids came from the living room.

"What'd you say to him?" Hoseok asked Namjoon pointedly, looking anything but amused.

Namjoon sighed, dropping into a kitchen chair. "Nothing, honest. I just reminded him to take care of himself."

"Then it was your tone, wasn't it?" he asked, crossing his arms and clearly frustrated. "Fucking- Namjoon, you know you can't control your tone of voice that well. You really need to try harder. You convinced him that he'd broken some ultimate rule and he didn't deserve Yoongi-hyung's present."

Namjoon had never seen Hoseok so serious and worked up. "I didn't say any of that, I promise!"

"It doesn't matter if you said it explicitly or not," Yoongi added, looking bored but was obvioulsy invested in the conversation. "He's not like you, Joon-ah. He's going to take things personally."

"Fine. I'll apologize later. I don't want to bring down the mood right now though," Namjoon replies, and as if on command, more happy laughter erupts from the other room. 

It's quiet for a few more moments until they see Jimin peeking into the kitchen cautiously. "Um... excuse me," he calls out to get the humans' attention. When they look towards him, he nervously shuffles forward. "I-I forgot to.. uh, to say thank you, Yoongi-hyung," he said shyly. "I'm sorry. I really like your present."

"Don't worry about it," Yoongi smiled, getting up to ruffle Jimin's hair who smiles at the affectionate action. "Seeing you guys goofing off was enough of a thanks. Why don't you go keep playing?" he shoos the hybrid back towards the living room with his words. Jimin nods and his ears perk up as he returns to the couch where Jungkook is laying on top of Taehyung trying to get the best selfie for Jimin's first phone background.

"I want to be in it too," Jimin pouts, and the two happily scoot over to allow Jimin to lay down next to them as they all smile widely when Jungkook snaps the photo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys. So I have a rough outline for the next few chapters so I'm hoping I'll find more time to update :) Thanks for reading! There's some more cuteness coming soon~
> 
>  
> 
> Side note... this is an important PSA for all authors!! It goes as follows:
> 
> USE WARNINGS ON YOUR STORIES. Those checkboxes with warnings are no joke. If your story contains something that could potentially be triggering, PLEASE make note of it with AO3's warnings (we're privileged to have that feature that AFF doesn't have. use it.), in the description or forward of your story, in the tags, or AT LEAST in an author's note in the beginning of the chapter that contains triggering material.
> 
> I recently finished reading a story called Party Crashers on AFF and I loved it all the way up until one of the very last (of nearly 50) chapters where there's a major character death. Basically, that's extremely triggering for me, and I've spent the past 2 weeks in a relapse of depression because of it. Sometimes, I don't mind reading stories with the death of a best friend if I know it's coming. I would need to mentally prepare myself for it and constantly remind myself that it's coming, but I am still capable of reading stories like that depending on my mood.
> 
> I know that some of you don't want to include warnings like that because of spoilers, and the fact that it might turn readers away from reading your work- but seriously. The only people it would turn away are people who legitimately do not enjoy reading things like that or who can be adversely affected by it. You're turning people away for their own good and if your views count is more important to you than that, then you have a serious problem.
> 
> (Disclaimer: I am absolutely NOT accusing the author of that particular story that set me off of ANYTHING. I'm sure many people just don't realize that things like this can have such a negative effect on some readers, which is why I'm including this PSA)
> 
> Be aware and be sensible.
> 
> Thanks, and sorry for the rant.


	15. Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm updating again after only like, 2 days. So if you're just tuning in to my update now, make sure you've read the chapter before this

The hybrid's first couple weeks in his new home went surprisingly smoothly. He kept his arm sling on almost constantly except for his showers (he loved the look on the humans' faces when Jin offered to give him a bath one night and he was able to proudly tell them that he could take showers by himself).

He thought a lot about several things. He thought about Namjoon's apology for unintentionally making him sad. He thought about how that might be the first time anyone's ever genuinely apologized to him. He thought about asking him to teach him to read, but really, he didn't see why he had to learn in the first place. He thought about how Hoseok had taken to bringing Jimin and Taehyung to the park after he got home from work.

He found that while he didn't do anything but sit on a bench next to Hoseok and watch the human repeatedly throw a tennis ball that Taehyung would chase down, it was so very nice to be outdoors. He'd be bundled up in one of the others' heavy winter coats with knitted mittens over his hands and a warm hat on his head but the fresh air was invigorating. Taehyung had taught him to wear fuzzy socks under his shoes- 'no one will ever know and it keeps you extra warm!' he'd said. Hoseok must have caught him looking longingly out his bedroom window one morning because these had become daily trips.

The more rest he got, the antsier he became as a whole, but the park trips were helping a bit.

Namjoon wasn't home very often following the first weekend, but he was usually home once Jimin, Taehyung, and Hoseok came back from their daily trip to the park before they all sat down for dinner together. 

Another thing he thought about often was food. He was learning so much about different kinds of food and even nutrition- food groups and their differences. Namjoon had taken to showing him each of the vegetables that go into his stir fry and the noodles before and after they get cooked. He already knew that meat was his favourite no matter how it was prepared, so he really enjoyed the nights that they got to feast on beef or chicken. 

He couldn't help but feel pampered with all the food he was being offered. In the beginning, the regular meals were so new and foreign that he would still scarf everything offered to him just because he wasn't used to such a schedule. He's mellowed out now, seeing as they usually only eat dinner together as a 'family' (as Jin says). Sometimes, he ends up skipping a meal just because he ate too much at the previous one. He's never expressed his guilt about that to anyone\- the feeling of taking advantage of the presence of food- but it only gets to him occasionally.

Nonetheless, he's immensely appreciative of the assurance of a rough daily schedule. He thrives off of routine and finds himself getting thrown off when a day goes differently from his plan. Jimin had Yoongi put an alarm on his phone so he would wake up every day at precisely 8:00 after the hybrid had complained about accidentally sleeping in one too many times. He would go to the kitched straight away and find Namjoon who was preparing to leave for him internship. The human would share his breakfast with Jimin and then give him his daily medication. Hoseok leaves for his own work at 10:00 in the morning, but he and Taehyung are usually awake well before. Hoseok wakes up Jungkook at 9:00 and they leave the apartment to go for a run (Jimin doesn't understand how training is something they do willingly, or even why they have to do it. Honestly, he's a little afraid to ask). After Hoseok comes back to take a shower and eat, he leaves. Taehyung plays board games with Jimin while Hoseok and Jungkook are out, but once Jungkook comes back, the three hybrids sit on the couch and watch Running Man together (Jimin hasn't totally grasped the point of it yet, but he still finds it rather entertaining). Jin usually wakes up before 10:00 and Jimin loves watching TV and hearing his hyung working in the kitchen to make breakfast for the others. Yoongi usually doesn't leave his room until Jin entices him with food. Jimin watches them all eat, and then Yoongi returns to his bedroom quietly. One day, Jimin worked up the courage to ask him what he does all day in his room, and Yoongi showed him the music he makes. Until Hoseok returns from work at 3:18 PM exactly, Jimin plays around with the other hybrids, and sometimes if he gets bored, Yoongi lets him sit on his bedroom floor and listen to him work (during the days, Jin usually calls himself their babysitter, which Jimin thinks is a funny thing to call himself). They leave for the park at 4:00 and return at 5:45. Either Yoongi or Jin will cook dinner, and Jimin likes to help- but mostly to watch (he's found he's not all that useful in the kitchen but Jin-hyung told him that that's okay). Sometimes Namjoon comes home just a little later with a paper bag full of food that they don't even have to make themselves. In the evening, Namjoon would unwrap his ankle brace and his bandages and then help him remove the sling so he could shower, and then the human would wrap him back up with new bandages before sending him off to bed.

Jimin's routine is very important to him. He still remembers that as soon as he'd gotten used to his new schedule, Hoseok happened to miss his bus and ended up getting home at 3:38 instead. Jimin sat still in front of the door and looked at it expectantly with a wagging tail for 10 minutes until Yoongi convinced him to wait on the sofa. Jimin agreed only once the human had called the other's cellphone and Jimin heard Hoseok's voice telling him that he wasn't dead and that he would only be 20 minutes late.

He's not sure why he gets so upset when things don't happen on time. He supposes it doesn't particularly matter. After all, some days  _are_ different for others. For example, Namjoon doesn't go to work on Wednesdays and Sundays (Jimin soon learned that the days had a particular order to them starting with Sunday and going through Saturday before starting over again), and Hoseok doesn't work on Mondays or Tuesdays. Sometimes Yoongi does his music thing outside of his bedroom- at a 'different location' he says- and some days he doesn't do it at all. He's justified his weird feelings about his need for the routine by telling himself that it's obviously not something to be concerned about if he can handle those exceptions. Besides, it's not like they watch the  _same_ episode of Running Man every day. There's a difference.

Jimin is currently experiencing the most significant change in his days so far. Just yesterday, Namjoon informed him that he would be spending his Wednesday day-off taking Jimin to the local clinic for a check-up. Jimin's been nervous ever since then. He's never been to a check-up before. He would ask what that entails but once again, he doesn't want _others_ to know how little  _he_ knows. If Namjoon noticed his antsiness on the car ride to the clinic, he thankfully doesn't point it out to Jimin. Instead, he silently rolls the window down and allows the hybrid to stick his head out and focus his nervous energy on the smells of the city instead.

Jimin appreciated the distraction, but it all came crashing back as soon as Namjoon parked the car and rolled the window up. He wished he at least had Jin or Taehyung here to help him, but neither Hoseok nor Yoongi were home and Namjoon insisted that Jin stay to make sure Taehyung and Jungkook didn't get into any trouble, and apparently Taehyung was forbidden from being anywhere that involved a waiting room. Jungkook just didn't want to come; Jimin doesn't blame him.

The hybrid waits patiently, doing a good job of hiding his feelings. Namjoon checks him in and then joins him in the plush chairs on the other side of the counter. The human tells him it should only be a minute to process his information. Jimin nods absentmindedly, eyes scanning the room. He sees lots of hybrids here, and the smell of so many of them in one place is sending his instincts on the fritz.

He felt defensive all of a sudden in a way that he hasn't for weeks now. His eyes travel to each and every living being in the room. Namjoon sits directly to his left, and three chairs down is a middle-aged man who poses no threat if the way he keeps shifting in his seat to avoid back pain is any indication. He has a young child with him, probably no older than 8 years old, and a hybrid cat who's hardly older than the kid. The cat has orange ears and seems disinterested in its surroundings. Sitting in the corner is a woman who probably isn't even 35 yet but she wears sunglasses indoors with her tall heels and arms crossed in a show of feigned apathy but he sees all the sparkly jewelry she wears and the way her hands aren't at all cracked the way his own are. She has with her two younger female feline hybrids (who still appear to be older than Jimin himself) sitting on either side of the rich woman. The two are both more interested in their fancy pink cellphones and their chewing gum than anything around them.

On the other side of the room, however, Jimin notices another dog hybrid, probably in his late teens, who has a similar active build to himself. He watches as the dog's owner- someone likely around Namjoon's age- stands up to go to the water fountain near the counter. Jimin remains looking straight ahead but side-eyes the lone hybrid, growling under his breath. 

He ignores the way Namjoon glances over at him warily but continues to look unassuming. He waits to see if the other will challenge his display of dominance. It seems as though the other hadn't quite picked up on his signal, because he completely  _ignores_  Jimin. He cuts the other some slack- perhaps he hadn't heard. The next rumbling in his throat is slightly louder than the last and Namjoon has clearly taken notice now. 

Apparently so has the hybrid, who snaps his head up and narrows his eyes. "Hi," he says hesitantly. "I'm Seokmin. What's your name?"

Jimin visibly recoils at the reaction. The other hybrid- Seokmin, his brain reluctantly supplies- hadn't shown signs of submission  _or_ dominance. Jimin is silent as he glares at Seokmin. He smells no extreme emotions coming from the other and it puts him even more on edge. Namjoon, on the other hand, is clearly experiencing nervous signals that Jimin picks up on but consciously ignores.

"Aw, are you making friends?" the other hybrid's human says as he comes back to sit down. Seokmin looks up to him with a happy smile and nods, which infuriates Jimin even more. He shows it by growling the loudest he has yet, cutting it off with a distressed whine. This sort of reaction seems mocking to him- as if Seokmin has recognized his display of dominance and chosen to informally ignore it.

"Jimin," Namjoon hissed in a whisper, and the hybrid tore his eyes away from the shocked expressions of Seokmin and his owner to look over to his other side. "What are you doing? You're scaring them."

Jimin eyes flick back and forth between his owner and the other pair, anxious about the unexpected reactions of both parties and constantly reminding himself that he's always  _wrong_  out here and that his instincts are always  _wrong_. 

_Great job Jimin you've just embarrassed yourself again. People out here say hello and they bow and they smile to each other. They don't see everyone as their enemy and you're wrong! You're always wrong!_

"Jimin, why don't we go see if they're ready for you yet?"

Jimin's eyes may have been trained on the still confused pair, but he doesn't miss the way Namjoon apologizes to them on their way to the counter, and he also doesn't miss the whisper of 'can we just go wait in the examination room?' that Namjoon directs toward the man on the other side of the counter that makes his stomach twist. 

He doesn't listen after that, still too wound up in his head to pay attention until he's aware that he's in a hallway now and Seokmin is out of sight. He trembles slightly, refusing to lift his eyes from the floor even as Namjoon lifts him up onto a hard, flat table-bed covered in paper. 

When Namjoon goes back to close the door to give them some privacy, Jimin flinches at the sound. He's not ready for Namjoon's discipline. 

"What happened out there? Seokmin-sshi was just being polite, you know." Namjoon stays by the door, genuinely afraid of what might happen if he comes too close.

Jimin lowers his head even further. He didn't mean to make Namjoon disappointed or ashamed of him. He wanted the human to feel proud of him like that boring rich lady did with her snobby cats. But he couldn't tell Namjoon that he needed to be in charge- that he needed to prove that Seokmin wasn't a treat to him. He couldn't say that he was feeling vulnerable in a new environment with new hybrids, especially with his decreased mobility. 

"I'm sorry, sir," he says simply. He may feel comfortable debating the severity of his actions with Hoseok like he did with his sling, but Namjoon seems like a no-nonsense kind of human. The kind that expects the utmost respect at all times, much like his previous masters. Namjoon is nicer than those humans for sure, but he still possesses many similar leader-like qualities that throw him off sometimes- like now. 

"Don't- I mean..." 

Namjoon is cut off when there's a knock at the door. He steps aside quickly so the doctor can enter. Jimin doesn't miss the look in his owner's eyes that seem to say ' _this isn't over_.' He's relieved that the entrance of another person (for once) because surely Namjoon won't mistreat him in front of a stranger, right?

"Good morning," the doctor greets, either oblivious to the tension or making an effort to pretend it isn't there. She holds a clipboard and hands a small stack of papers to Namjoon. "If you wouldn't mind filling these out, please," she says, motioning to a chair in the far corner of the room for him to use. The human obeys, grabbing the papers and a pen before sitting himself down and slipping on his glasses before getting to work. "So, what brings you here today?"

Jimin panics a little at the question. "U-Um... H-He brought.. brought me," Jimin stutters out with a nod towards Namjoon. He didn't realize that he was going to be asked questions.

The doctor smiles cutely, glancing over towards Namjoon who eyes her sheepishly over his glasses. "Sorry," he says. "He's here to check progress. He's had that sling on for about three and a half weeks now for a dislocated shoulder and the brace for a sprained ankle. He seems fine- says there's no pain."

She looks down to the remaining papers on her clipboard- his medical record, she tells him when she catches him looking on curiously. "And the wounds on his torso?" she directs towards Namjoon.

"I stopped bandaging them when they closed up. It was last week, I think, but I've been checking anyway and there are still no signs of infection or irritation."

She thanks him before turning back to the hybrid fidgeting on the examination table. "So, how has your shoulder been feeling?" she asks, setting the clipboard down on the small space of counter against the wall next to a sink. 

"It's okay ma'am," Jimin says politely.

"Is it okay if I touch it?"

Jimin eyes her warily but he nods his head. "Thank you," she said gratefully, gently putting pressure around and on his shoulder while watching his stoic facial expression. "So, your name is Jimin, right?" He nods. "That's a really beautiful name. I'm Sunyoung. I'm a doctor specializing in hybrid care." He knows she's making effort to be extra friendly with him and he's not quite sure how that makes him feel.

However, after his impolite display in the waiting room, he decides that maybe being kind and respectful to this woman would be a good way to get on Namjoon's good side again.

"Hello Miss Sunyoung. You have soft hands." That's a nice thing to say, right? People out here seem to value their soft hands in a way that he's never quite understood, so it must be a compliment.

She laughs softly before pulling her hands away from his shoulder. "Thank you, Jimin. Did it hurt when I touched your arm?"

"No ma'am," he says, speaking very quietly.

"Well that's good news," she grins. "Let's get that sling off, okay?"

Jimin's mind is reminding him that  _No, that's not okay! You have to keep the sling on always. Mr. Namjoon said so!_ However, when he hesitates as she reaches to take it off, Namjoon looks up just in time to notice Jimin's panicked look. "N-No ma'am. I'm supposed to always keep it on. I'm sorry."

It must be his first time defying an explicit order from a human, and the thought terrifies him, but what terrifies him more is if he disobeys one of Namjoon's rules right in front of him after he was mean to that other hybrid in the waiting room. He'd rather face her wrath than someone he lives with. 

She smiles wider though, and that only confused him even more.

"It's okay, Jimin. Hyung says it okay to take it off now. Miss Sunyoung is your doctor," Namjoon pipes up from his chair. Jimin's not sure about the significance of that last bit of information but he nods stiffly in response, allowing the woman to slip it off his body.

10 minutes of prodding later, Jimin is sick of her repetitive questions and of doing exactly as she says like he's just a doll. He's taken off his shirt and allowed her to run her fingers over his back and chest, digging her fingers in deeper over his remaining bruises. Everything about this visit so far- the experience with Seokmin included- is reminding him far too much of the life he thought he was able to leave behind. The only difference is that he's in a clean room instead of one filled with dust and mold. Also, he hasn't had much experience with female humans (or female hybrids, for that matter), but they seem quite different from himself.

Jimin returned home with his ankle brace still on, but he was finally free of the arm sling. He liked that it would no longer be an issue, especially when he slept. Namjoon hadn't mentioned the moment in the waiting room, but he knew it was only a matter of time. He probably had to talk to the other humans and talk about what punishment would be appropriate. 

He headed straight to his bedroom when they got inside and took off their shoes, closing the door and climbing into his bed. He laid down on top of the comforter, but pulled his teddy bear into his chest. Nervously, Jimin picked at the fur on the bear's back, laying awake and anxious and a little bit exhausted, honestly.

It would be okay, though. Namjoon won't hurt him. He knows that Namjoon wouldn't. He could be angry and disappointed, which is already enough to make Jimin feel terrible, but he knows that no matter how angry he is,  _he won't hurt him_. 

Maybe he shouldn't be relieved when he knows he's made the human upset with him, but he can't help it. The sense of security he has even when he's done wrong is new and foreign but overall wonderful and Jimin is grateful for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** Next chapter is going to be all cuteness & no angst so look forward ^^ also it'll be picking up where this left off so no more time skips **
> 
>  
> 
> ** Also I found some super cute pictures of the hybrids' base breeds so you get an image: **
> 
> **[Jimin](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f3/c5/08/f3c508ea5071061c9d90d9f49fdc3c13.jpg) (black german shepherd) (omg [baby jimin](http://www.chercarkennels.net/images/385_Roseanne-puppies,-7-22-15.BlackFemale.DSC_2845.jpg) I can't) **
> 
> **[Jin](http://www.yourcat.co.uk/images/catimages/Breed_MaineCoon/mc1.jpg) (maine coon!) **
> 
> **[Jungkook](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/af/ce/d2/afced2ae73da75ccc85fdf9a50a1ad0e.jpg)(bombay) (sleeeek)**
> 
> **[Taehyung](http://cdn-www.dailypuppy.com/media/dogs/anonymous/teddy_boxer7.jpg_w450.jpg)(he's a mutt- I picture some sort of mix between lab, boxer, & border collie idk why) ([bonus ](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/a7/9f/6a/a79f6af5c55c56be1c4e685fd516d967.jpg)of Tae w/ his pup- this is lowkey my fave pic of him ever actually)**
> 
>  
> 
> **Anywayyy do any of you know anyone who does (or if you do yourself) fanart of hybrid bangtan? B/c my imagination can only take me so far and I love looking at fan art because I'm a terrible artist and I think people are awesome.**


	16. Overwhelming

Namjoon gave Jimin some alone time to cool down in his room before talking to him about what had happened earlier in the waiting room at the doctor's office. The human stayed in the living room with Jin in the meantime. He'd briefed his hybrid on Jimin's physical condition and made sure to include that Jimin was recovering very well.

"So where is he now?" Jin asked, confused. He'd come out of his bedroom when he heard Namjoon return home but he must have missed Jimin.

"His room. I think he's upset," Namjoon replied (sounding equally confused). 

"What? Why?" Seokjin frowned, making to stand up but Namjoon stopped him with a hand. "I don't know but I'm just going to leave him be for a bit. He was kind of antsy when the doctor was checking him out. Actually, he was just  _off_  the whole trip. Growled at someone in the waiting room and scared the poor kid."

Seokjin sat back down and furrowed his eyebrows. "What'd you do about it?" 

"Just... Took him out of the room. I don't know, I didn't know if he'd try to attack him or something. It could have happened."

It was quiet for a bit and Seokjin took in the news slowly, tilting his head to the side as he thought. Could it really have happened? It was hard to think that their cute little friend would be capable of hurting another living being, but given his past, Jin realized that it truly could be a possibility. Jin thought that it sounded insulting to have to take extra precations to make sure Jimin didn't snap and attack someone, but was it truly offensive if it was a true concern? They had a valid reason to fear such an extreme reaction. 

"Maybe..." the hybrid speculated. "Well, maybe he just needs to get out more. Maybe he needs to see how we interact with other people and hybrids so he can have... I don't know, a good example? Really the only time he leaves the apartment is when he goes to the park with Hoseok and Tae."

Namjoon nodded pensively. It was a good idea but he was a little concerned with actually executing it. He had no idea how to restrain a hybrid, especially one who was obviously much stronger than him. What if things got out of hand? They didn't even have identification on him yet (Namjoon was a little worried about the reaction he'd get from the proposition of a collar or even a wrist band).

"We could just take him shopping today. Super easy," Jin suggested. "We can all go once Hoseok gets home from work. What do you think?"

"I guess," Namjoon sighed. "I just... I don't know, can you go talk to him? He really doesn't seem to like me."

Namjoon sounded so genuinely upset about it that Seokjin couldn't just leave his owner alone right now to confront the new hybrid about his idea no matter how excited he was about it. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you. It has to be a misunderstanding." 

"I mean, it's been weeks and that's what I've been telling myself, but why does he call everyone else 'hyung' but me? Any time I look at him differently, he goes right back to 'sir' and avoiding my eyes. It's driving me crazy- am I doing something wrong?"

Seokjin's frown deepened as he scooted closer to his owner on the couch. He knew that no matter how much Namjoon pretended that he didn't care, he was deeply hurt by the fact that Jimin wasn't accepting him the same way he did the rest of their group. Maybe he was hesitant to adopt him at first, but that doesn't mean that he felt any less love for their new hybrid. "You might not have a lot in common," Seokjin added. "You know, Yoongi lets him listen to music, Tae watched tv with him, Hoseok takes him to the park, and you're hardly ever here but when you are, you're the one that's always giving him his medicine, making sure he eats, and taking him to the doctor. You know what?" Seokjin got a mischievous glint in his eye. "You should take him out shopping today, just the two of you. Spend some quality time with him doing something carefree for once."

Namjoon's eyes got wide. "Uh-- no thanks. That's okay. Why don't you come with us?"

"I don't want him to use me as a fall-back. This way, he has to talk to you. Just go talk to him, dammit!" Jin stood and pulled his owner with him, shoving him in the direction of Jimin's room.

"Fine! Ugh, you're insufferable," he groaned in feigned annoyance (maybe apprehension, but never real anger). He dusted himself off to buy some time but he noticed by the way that Jin rolled his eyes that he wasn't fooled. 

Moments later, he found himself knocking on the young hybrid's bedroom door.

"Yes?" 

He could hardly hear the mumbled reply from inside the room. Namjoon cracked open the door. "Hey, can I come in?" He heard the ruffled noise of movement against the bed more than he saw the slight nod. "Okay. Um. So I guess I just wanted to check up on you. So. I mean. Are you okay?" Namjoon rolled his eyes at his own lack of rhetoric.

Jimin sat up slowly, looking at the human in a confused manner. He pulled the teddy bear into his lap as he looked up and nodded again.

"You sure? Okay. Because, well.. I mean, you just seemed...  _off_  earlier. Uncomfortable, you know? Just wanted to make sure that you were feeling okay." 

When Jimin nodded slowly once again, narrowing his eyes warily, Namjoon gulped. The hard part.

"Good. I'm glad. I was wondering if... 'cause, you know, it's almost Christmas and all, if you wanted to come shopping with me today. We could, um... buy presents and maybe... get ice cream or something- I don't know. I haven't... planned it all out."

 _But the park_ , Jimin wanted to say.  _My routine_.

"Um. Okay. What presents?"

"Just... presents for everyone. I haven't gotten anything for Jin yet, so I thought maybe you'd like to help me pick something out. Maybe I can find you some nice new clothes too. Who knows." He was getting words out of his mouth, and that had to count for something. Maybe he didn't sound quite so graceful, but when did he ever.

"You've never gotten Jin-hyung a present?" Jimin asked, cocking his head to the side, seeming to relax a bit as soon as he realized that Namjoon wasn't angry with him.

Namjoon laughed shortly. "Ah, of course I have. I just haven't gotten his Christmas present yet. I- uh, saw him looking at this cute apron last month- it had lemons on it- and I was thinking about seeing if it was still in stock. Thought it'd be cute."

Jimin was quiet as he watched Namjoon talk with furrowed brows.

"So. How about it?"

"Okay."  _But I was supposed to go to the park with Hoseok-hyung and Tae. Who will tell them that I'm gone? What about the routine?_

"Awesome," Namjoon grinned. "Are you ready to go now or do you want some more time? We can get lunch while we're out if you want."

Jimin swallows and nods, pushing himself off the bed and following Namjoon to the door with one hand closed around one of his teddy bear's arms. He continues following the human all the way to the front hall, where he has to let go of the bear to put his shoes back on. Once he's finished, he picks the toy back up and waits for Namjoon to finish putting on his own shoes. He catches the sight of Jin in the living room.

"Going out?" he asks, sending a wink to his owner. He hands them both jackets and scarves, adding in a soft beanie for Jimin to keep his head warm so he doesn't get sick again so soon after recovering.

"Yup," Namjoon sighed. "Getting some Christmas shopping in."

Jin smiled proudly.

Once they'd closed the door to their apartment behind them, Jimin got the courage to ask a simple question he'd been wondering about. "What... Um, what is the difference between shopping and Christmas present shopping?" He didn't look Namjoon in the eye, but instead at the closed elevator doors in front of them.

Namjoon chuckled a little, unsure if he was being serious or not. "Well... Christmas shopping is done at Christmas-time... and regular shopping is any other time of the year...?"

Jimin frowned. "Does Christmas mean the same thing as winter? Jin-hyung told me it's winter now. When it snows, then it's winter."

Namjoon's eyes widened.  _So it's not that he doesn't know what Christmas shopping is, it's that he doesn't know what Christmas is at all..._ "Chri-Christmas is a holiday, Jimin. Like... Like your birthday, except lots of people celebrate it, not just you and your friends."

"So it's like a big birthday party? Who's it for?" (He knows what a birthday party is thank you very much; Taehyung told him they'd give him one next year)

"We can get into the politics of that later."

"The what?"

"Nevermind, Jimin."

He makes the hybrid hold his hand when they exit the apartment building. He doesn't want him to get lost in the heavy crowd, which is exactly what he told Jimin when asked.

Jimin was more than a little nervous about how there just seemed to be more and more people the farther they walked along the sidewalk. This wasn't the way they got to the park, because there weren't many people that way. Here, there were lots of buildings and people with carts- each with very distinct food smells- filling up the sidewalk. There were too many scents that he found himself sticking his nose in the air and struggling to keep up with Namjoon. He hugged his bear close to his body with his free hand and stumbled over cracks in the sidewalk and other people's feet. 

Namjoon noticed his struggles and slowed down his walk for which Jimin was very thankful. His heart was racing so fast with the sheer amount of sounds and smells; humans and hybrids alike. It was just bordering _too much_.

"H-Hyung," he mumbled, not sure if Namjoon could even hear him over the loud chatter and music filled with bells and high-pitched voices.

"I was thinking we could get lunch at either one of these food carts or at a cafe up ahead. What would you like to eat?" 

Ah, so he hadn't heard him.  _Wait, did he just ask me a question_? Jimin's mind was racing, he mind too busy identifying the sources of certain smells and sounds without him even asking it to- instinct maybe. Either way, it was taking up all of his brain power, head whipping around and nose sniffing like crazy. He wanted to know where  _everything_ was but it was all  _moving so fast_.

"Hyung," he whispered again, tugging on the human's hand.  _I'm calling him hyung, why won't he listen?_

Namjoon finally turned to look back at him and stopped walking. Jimin accidentally ran into the human since he wasn't looking straight ahead but rather directly behind him so he could see what was happening behind his back. He quickly jumped back but ended up running into someone else behind him- someone he hadn't noticed before because  _everyone kept moving_.

"Hyung, no. Please," he said, not sure how to convey in words that he just wanted to go home. This wasn't fun.

Namjoon picked up on his discomfort and starded pulling him away from the crowd towards a small alley between two designer clothing shops. Jimin's eyes widened as he was pulled toward the alleyway, digging his heels into the ground in resistance.  _No_ ,  _he wouldn't, right?_

"Jimin, what's wrong?" the human asked, clearly unsuccessful in removing themselves from the middle of the sidewalk. They were in everyone's way now, people having to push around them as Jimin refused to move from his spot. The bodies pushed against Jimin, reminding him of the pushing and shoving around the metal cage; the people slapping him on the back in congratulations and those spitting at his feet.

Jimin tried pulling his wrist free from Namjoon's grip, and the human was very conflicted. He didn't want to keep holding on and have Jimin feel unsafe or uncomfortable, but if he let go, he feared that the hybrid would run.

"I- I don't want to," Jimin whimpered, ears falling flat and tailing falling down and tucking against the back of his legs as he ducked his head and tightened his arm against his teddy bear. "Please I don't want to."

"What don't you want to do?" He had to move fairly close to hear him properly over the noisy crowd.

 _There are never this many people_ , Jimin thought, clearly unknowledgeable about holiday traffic.  _Never this many people unless there's a match_.

Namjoon couldn't get an answer out of the hybrid so he tried to reason with him. "Why don't we just move somewhere more quiet, okay? I know this really old record shop just across the street and there's shouldn't be many people there even this close to Christmas, okay? Look, there's a crosswalk right there, let's just follow along, okay?"

Jimin nodded, noticing that it got him further away from the alleyway, and Namjoon's promise of a quiet place was all too tempting. "Yes, please." 

He wanted to watch his surrounding more, but he was getting such a headache that all he could do was try to block out noise by putting his ears low against his hair, closing his eyes, and holding his breath. He let Namjoon guide him, practically glueing himself to the human's back until he heard the little bell ding above him. He released the air in his lungs and looked up to see that the bell was hung above a door, and a blast of warm air hit him as they walked through it. Jimin glanced around immediately, noticing first off that Namjoon was correct, he only counted 6 other people in the room. 

Namjoon kept walking until they reached a counter.

"Hey, is Jiho here?"

"Ah, he's in the back," some scrawny guy on the other side of the counter said, gesturing lazily with one hand.

"Is it okay if I go?" Namjoon asked, pointing in the same direction the guy had.

The man just shrugged.

Namjoon sighed and Jimin could have sworn he heard the human mumble a 'whatever' under his breath as he walked away, pulling Jimin around the side of the counter and into a separate room.

"Hyung?" Namjoon called out.

There was only one other person inside.

"Ah- wow, I was not expecting to see you here, Namjoon-ah," the new man said, standing from where he was sitting, seemingly surprised.

"Listen hyung, I know we haven't talked much lately because I've been so busy, so I apologize for that, and I'm really sorry to ask this, but is it okay if I could have a moment alone here with Jimin?" he asked, gesturing to his hybrid. "I'm sorry, there was just nowhere quiet around, and- I don't know, I'm sorry if this is weird-"

"No," the other guy laughed. "That's fine. You guys stay here, I've got to go out and help restock anyway. But  _we_  are chatting later," Jiho said, nodding to Namjoon and using his eyes to motion towards Jimin and Namjoon smiled sheepishly. Maybe it slipped his mind to inform his friend that they'd adopted a new hybrid.

"Thanks so much."

Jiho waved back a "no problem" on his way out of the room.

The door closed and Jimin was alone with Namjoon. The human turned fully towards the other and placed his hands on Jimin's biceps. "Hey. What happened? Are you alright?"

Jimin looked at the ground.  _How silly of me. Of course he wouldn't make me fight. He said he wouldn't. What was I **thinking**_ _?_ "I- yes sir."

"Hyung," Namjoon gently corrected. "You can call me hyung, remember. Come sit down," he directed, leading him to the seat Jiho was previously occupying. "Talk to me, Jiminie."

Jimin sat, and as overwhelmed as he was feeling, he couldn't help but crack a smile at the nickname. It sounded so cute- it made him feel cute.

Namjoon grinned as he knelt in front of the hybrid. "You like that name? I'll call you Jiminie all the time, then. So are you okay, Jiminie?"

Jimin nodded jerkily. "Um. Yeah. I'm sorry, hyung," he apologized genuinely. "I just got scared. But it's okay. I'm really sorry."

"No no, don't apologize. I completely understand. I'm just sorry that I wasn't able to help better out there. Do you feel any better now?"

Once again, Jimin nods.

"Can you maybe tell me why you got scared?"

"No." Last time Jimin mentioned something about his last master, it made him sad. He promised not to make that mistake again.

"I just want to help. If you tell me what made you scared, then I can make sure it never happens again. I can't protect you if I don't know what you need to be protected from," Namjoon reasoned. Jimin thought it over. Youngbae had once said that owners were there to protect you, but he just didn't want to make Namjoon sad again. 

He simply shook his head, not wanting to straight-out refuse his owner. But it was for his own good. He didn't need to say it out loud. It was unnecessary, and it would just make the human feel bad. It wasn't a problem to keep it to himself. "I just... um... I want to go home. I don't like Christmas present shopping all that much," he said quietly.

 _But we didn't even get to start_ , Namjoon wanted to protest. He wished Jimin would give it a shot, but he wasn't about to make him feel bad for getting upset and wanting to go home. "Okay. We'll go home. That's okay. I hope you can tell me soon though, Jiminie. I want you to know that your hyung will always make sure that you feel safe."

"Yes, hyung," he agreed when Namjoon looked at him expectantly. 

There was a knock at the door and the two looked up as Jiho came back inside the room. "Here. I got this from the vendor just outside," the eldest says to Jimin, holding something out towards him. "He sells the best popsicle flavors. I wasn't sure what kind you like so I got mango."

Jimin looked up at the man hopefully. Was he really giving him this popsicle? He loves popsicles; Jin always lets him have one after dinner. He's never tries mango before.

"Go ahead, cutie," Jiho prompts, holding it out even more with a soft smile. 

Jimin stand up and hesitantly grabs the popsicle. "Thank you, mister." He immediately starts eating the popsicle since it had already begun to melt now that it was inside in the heat. 

"You're welcome. You can sit here and finish it so you don't get too cold outside. I have to talk to your owner anyway. Speaking of which," Jiho turns his attention towards Namjoon once again. "When were you planning on telling me you got another hybrid?"

Namjoon grinned sheepishly, patting Jimin's head gently once the youngest had sat back down and begun focusing on his popsicle. "This is Jiminie. He's 19 and he's new to our family. We haven't even had him for three weeks. He's a german shepherd."

"Very nice to meet you Jimin," Jiho says. "My name is Woo Jiho- Namjoon-ah was my friend way back in high school."

Jimin nodded politely but his attention was obviously more focused on his popsicle that was already nearly halfway finished. Namjoon grinned widely at how cute the hybrid was once presented with a treat, and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Where did you get him?" 

"Ah-" Namjoon hesitated. "He's a, uh- a rescue. Yeah."

Jiho raised his eyebrows in question but didn't say anything. "Any holiday plans?" the older man changes the subject swiftly.

Namjoon is grateful for the shift. "Not much, we were going to do something quiet, just the-  _seven_  of us. You know, spend the day together, exchange gifts, the like." 

"Very nice. You're out shopping right now, I presume?"

"Were, yeah," Namjoon corrected. "Going home now I guess. No big deal, I'll just do my shopping tomorrow."

"Oh Christmas' Eve?"

"Um, yes?"

"Are you crazy?" the older man laughed. "People get stupid this time of year, I swear. Supposed to be a time of giving and yet all people do is be rude to one another. Push you out of the way, cut in line. Damn. People can be nasty."

"They could be worse," Jimin casually mentions, swinging his feet as he finishes his popsicle happily.

Namjoon smiles softly, resting his hand atop Jimin's head. "Yeah. They could be."

Jiho smirks at the personal moment the two shared. "Alright, you best get on your way before this place gets busy."

Namjoon laughs earnestly. "Yeah right. 'Busy'," he says with air quotes.

"Oh you shut up," Jiho says, shoving Namjoon towards the door. "I let you into my private break room and this is how you treat me. Get out," he says jokingly. Jimin stands and follows his owner. He's still holding a popsicle stick in his sticky fingers, keeping it away from his teddy bear to not get it dirty. "Really though," Jiho continues. "It was nice to see you again. Keep in better touch will you."

"You got it. Thanks for letting us crash. We'll get out of your hair now."

"Here, let me take your trash," Jiho says as Jimin passes by. He holds out his hand and Jimin places the stick in it, smiling gratefully.

"Thank you for the popsicle Mr. Jiho."

Jimin clings to Namjoon's back on the way back to the apartment. This time, he maneuvers them away from the majority of the crowd and they get home just a bit quicker than it took them the other way.

Once back in the elevator, Jimin feels a rush of relief but also guilt.

"I'm really sorry I ruined your shopping, hyung. I promise I won't do it again." 

Namjoon grimaced. "It's really not a problem, Jiminie. I'm sorry that I made you feel unhappy. Why don't we go inside and have some leftovers for lunch instead, and then we can watch a movie with Jin and Tae and Jungkook until Hoseok gets home? Would you like that?" 

"Yes please."

Namjoon decided that maybe it wasn't quite so important that Jimin confide all of his fears in him right away. It may have been weeks already, but he was still probably being too impatient. These things take time, he tells himself. It's important that he not get frustrated with Jimin's nature and continue to offer his support in case he ever does decide he needs it. 

And maybe he was hesitant at first to ask Jimin to wear any kind of identification, but he might have the beginnings of an idea for Jimin's Christmas present. He'd get it alone tomorrow, and then maybe they can have their fun shopping trip together sometime after the holiday season when the streets weren't quite so busy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah this is leading up to something guys. I promise they start communicating better after what I have planned.
> 
> Anyway, as usual, thanks for reading & sticking with me and my infamous typos~
> 
> Also, everyone wish Greynights luck on the last of their exams :P
> 
> rock on y'all


	17. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ THE END NOTE   
> (it's nothing bad I promise, just some explanations~)  
> So enjoy this holiday fluff in the meantime...

Jimin sat still and quiet on the sofa during the beginning of the movie that he was watching with Namjoon, Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jin until the eldest hybird offered him a chance to relax more. He spent the rest of the film laying on his side with his head resting on Jin's leg and hugging his own knees. Namjoon sat on Jin's other side, reaching over to absentmindedly pet Jimin's head. 

Even though they all found it a little annoying or repetitive at times to have to watch cartoons and kids movies all the time instead of those action-packed animes that Taehyung loved or the superhero movies that Jungkook favored, Jin very much appreciated the look of serenity on Jimin's face when he became entranced by the moving pictures. Disney had become something of a staple in their home and Yoongi always made sure they had some downloaded on the living room television for times like these.

Regardless of the choice in film, Jin and Namjoon had managed to make Jimin feel calm and happy for the time being and that's all that truly mattered to them; the human had been so worried earlier when the poor hybrid was on edge. Namjoon wanted to finish his shopping but he also didn't want to leave before he knew that the other hybrids would be okay home alone with Jimin when he wasn't quite stable. 

* * *

 

Namjoon finally slipped out when Hoseok and Yoongi got home with bags full of Christmas decorations.

Taehyung had immediately hopped up to help decorate and it was up to Jin to convince Jimin and Jungkook to join them. 

"I only want to put the star on the top of the tree," Jungkook insisted while Jimin skeptically watched Taehyung throwing streamers everywhere from out of a plastic bag. 

Jin rolled his eyes. "Fine. Sit here and watch cartoons then. Jimin, do you want to help hyung make cookies? We can cut them into cute little shapes and decorate them with your favorite colors."

"Okay hyung," Jimin agreed, if only to avoid being bombarded with streamers and glitter. It was somehow quieter in the kitchen even though it was mostly open to the living room and it seemed like a calmer place in general, which Jimin appreciated greatly. "Do you know how to make them?" Jimin asked softly, still not used to prompting conversation.

"I do, and I'm about to teach you," the older hybrid replied. "This is a tradition. We make cookies to look like holiday things, like presents and Christmas trees, and then we eat them the night before Christmas- that's tonight- while watching movies. I'm very excited for you to experience it this year; Christmas is very special and I know you'll love it."

Jimin heard a lot about Christmas these past few days, and he wasn't sure how one day could be so special. Nonetheless, he was still excited (though he tried not to be for fear that it wouldn't live up to his raising expectations). He supposed he shouldn't be too afraid, because how bad could it really turn out if there were  _cookies_? It was a new yummy food he couldn't wait to try.

Jin was measuring out different ingredients and Jimin watched intently so he could do it if Jin asked him to. Instead, he requested that Jimin start mixing some of them together. The older pushed a couple small bowls of ingredients over to him on the counter and then handed him a bigger bowl and some weird metal tool. Jimin awkwardly placed the metal tool aside and poured each of the smaller bowls into the large one before glancing around warily.  _Now what_? he thought. 

Jin glanced over from where he was still measuring things out when he noticed Jimin had stopped moving. "Great job, now mix them all together," he encouraged.

Jimin frowned slightly but nodded.  _I thought I just did that..._ Either way, he grabbed the bowl and shook it slightly from side to side, watching all the powdery-looking foods mingle with each other.

Jin was still watching this happen, expecting him to pick up the whisk. When he started shaking the bowl, he tried his hardest to hold back his laugh and reminded himself that Jimin was still new to this whole cooking thing. Instead of cracking up, he handed Jimin the whisk and showed him how it was done. 

By the time the dough was ready to be rolled out, Jimin was practically a natural at using the whisk, and he seemed enthusiastic about it too- insisting that he could indeed mix the wet ingredients together with the dry ones when Jin offered.

Jin learned quickly that Jimin was fascinated by the cookie cutters and there ended up being 7 Christmas trees, 7 presents, 2 snowmen, 1 reindeer, 1 snowflake, and 1 mitten (he wanted equal numbers of all of them but there wasn't enough dough). When they were all cut out and placed on two seperate baking sheets, Jimin looked up at Jin expectantly.

"Can we eat them now?"

"No, silly. They have to cook first. We'll make the frosting while they're baking and then decorate them when they come out. And  _then_  we can eat them."

Jimin pouted for all of two seconds before Jin slipped the trays into the oven and he became excited all over again.

When they finally had a full plate of cookies (mostly blue Christmas trees with copious amounts of sprinkles and red snowmen), Jin let Jimin carry the plate into the living room and place them in the center of the coffee table. The younger's tail was wagging once he put down the plate and looked at how beautifully decorated the room was now. The tree was covered in shiny trinkets, there were streamers lining the walls and ceiling, and he was just in time to see Jungkook putting the star at the top of the tree. 

"Do you like it?" Taehyung asked excitedly after shaking glitter out of his hair and getting it all over the floor.

"It's pretty," Jimin agreed with a small smile.

"Yay!" the other dog hybrid cheered. "We usually only do the tree but then Hobi-hyung was like 'what if we did more this year' and I was like 'oh my god yes,' and then Yoongi-hyung was like 'seriously' and so then we had to remind him that you didn't know what Christmas was! And I couldn't imagine watching Christmas movies with you if our house was not as festive as the ones in the movies. It just wouldn't do."

Jimin blinked as he tried to keep up. No matter how much he may or may not have comprehended, he at least got that they did this for him. His smile widened even as he dropped his head a bit in embarrassment.

"It was supposed to be a surprise but you got home early from shopping with Namjoonie-hyung so here we are now." Taehyung finally took a breath. "Surprise!"

Jimin clapped his hands together. He knew that's not how surprises work but they improvised to make him happy, and that meant a lot. Jin grinned widely. "Jimin and I made some cookies for everyone. Namjoon said he's on his way back, so why don't we set up a movie?"

Jungkook launched himself onto one of the wide chairs and looked expectantly at Yoongi to join him- which he did, of course- while Taehyung pulled up their movie collection on the television. "Should we start with Frosty the Snowman?" he asked, glancing seriously around the room.

"Whatever you want, Tae," Hoseok replied. He sat himself down on the sofa and left space on either side of him. Jimin hesitantly scooted closer to couch, hoping that the human would invite him to sit next to him. In the next second, Taehyung came bounding over with the remote in hand to sit in one of the open spaces. "C'mon Jimin!" he called, and Hoseok opened up both of his arms welcomingly so each hybrid could cuddle up. When all three got settled, Hoseok turned his head to give the side of Taehyung's head a kiss, and before Jimin could even feel left out, he turned the other way and kissed his hair as well.

Jimin pulled his sweater up over his hands and fiddled with them in his embarrassment as his face flushed. He had a hard time sleeping that night because of how excited he was.

* * *

 

He was awoken out of a nightmare the next morning to the sounds and smells of sizzling food coming from the kitchen. Jimin placed his teddy bear gently against his pillow and then wandered out of his bedroom, sliding his fuzzy socks against the floor. 

"Good morning!" he was greeted by Hoseok and Namjoon cooking a breakfast for everybody. "Merry Christmas," said the humans in unison.

"Hi," Jimin replied with wide eyes. He smiled softly and inhaled the scent of the food. He was so glad that his sense of smell was returning to him in full once he began recovering from whatever was wrong with his lungs (there were so many big words, but at least he got the gist of it)- not only so he could sense danger and anger in others, but also so he could enjoy these simple luxuries. Nice smells weren't entirely foreign to him, but they certainly weren't a common occurrance before moving here.

"Have you seen the Christmas tree this morning?" Hoseok asked with a wide grin.

Jimin cocked his head. No, he hadn't. Had it changed from last night? The hybrid turned around to look and noticed presents piling up beneath it. "Woah!" he gasped, going over to look at them. "Was I supposed to put one here?" he asked anxiously.

"Not this year. Don't worry about it!" Namjoon assured him. 

"Okay..." Jimin trailed off. He ran his fingers over the shiny, reflective wrapping paper covering the gifts. He saw some in the movies they watched last night, and it was bizarre how closely these humans followed those traditions. It seemed to make them happy though, so he decided to be happy about it as well. He couldn't wait to see what was inside of each of these boxes.

Hoseok called from the kitchen, "Jimin-ah, do you want to help set the table?"

The hybrid hopped back up and rushed over to help the human. Hoseok handed him a stack of plates with bowls on top. "Can you please put one of each in front of everyone's chairs?"

Jimin nodded and diligently began placing the plates and the bowls on the table, and he even went back to get silverware as well.

"Wow, you did really well!" Hoseok praised. "Thank you so much for your help."

Jimin flushed and bowed his head.  _I didn't even help that much- just put stuff on the table..._  he thought. 

"Oh my god, you're so cute!" Hoseok squealed, holding back the 'stop it!' that he normally would have added for fear that Jimin might take it literally and then  _actually stop being cute_. He couldn't imagine such a world, so he made sure to watch his words.

Jimin ducked his head even further and swayed on his feet a bit- flattered, but unsure how to take it. 'Cute' was still certainly a very new thing for him. He used to think 'menacing' and 'tough' were what he should strive to look like, but he found he got much more compliments this way when he didn't try to look mean.

Jimin allowed the human to ruffle his hair and run his fingers over the fur on his ears because he really enjoyed the feeling. Namjoon laughed as he moved the dishes of food from the stove over to the center of the table. 

After breakfast, Taehyung convinced Jimin to join him and Jungkook outside for a snowball fight (even though he refused to throw any snowballs at anything but trees because he thought they might hurt someone). He was never truly a fan of the snow, because it was cold, and left his clothes wet for hours afterwards, and he always got sick. It was different this time though, because the snow behind the apartment complex was white and fluffy, not brown and slushy. He wasn't even cold with all the layers he was wearing and the mittens over his hands.

Eventually, Jin called them back inside so they wouldn't catch colds (which was silly to Jimin because the cold wasn't something you can even touch, right? So how do you catch it?). They even got to take off all the wet clothes and leave them hanging by the door but still be warm and cozy in their bottom layers. Jin gathered them around in the living room so they could drink hot chocolate and hang out.

Jimin wanted to tell them that he appreciated them all for adopting him--but saying cheesy things like that probably wouldn't be appropriate, right?--so he continued sipping on his warm drink and curled his legs up under him. Christmas was lovely, he realized, and it only got lovlier as the day went on. Jimin helped them make dinner, and even though he mostly just handed them whatever they asked for, he loved the smiles and the praises he got in return. As it turned out, dinner was excellent, and there were lots of different meats to try and vegetables to eat them with. There was even a cake! A whole cake! 

The best part though was after the cake. They had all gathered in the living room once again--with Taehyung eagerly taking his place on the floor by the tree--to open the gifts. The excited hybrid was reading the tags and handing them out one by one. The first one was Jin's new apron that Namjoon had told Jimin about just the day before. He was happy to see the older hybrid look so pleased.

Jin had given Taehyung a new ball to play with--a really big one with some of his favourite anime characters on it. In return, Taehyung had gotten the older hybrid what seemed to be another toy. It was a character that Jimin had seen on the television sometimes when Taehyung and Jungkook played their Mario games. 

Jimin himself received quite a few gifts as well. He got a brand new pack of fluffy socks with polka dot patterns from Yoongi, and Hoseok had bought him his very own blue tennis ball to use at the park once his ankle fully healed. Blue was a color he really liked and he had told the human that once when they were sitting on their usual park bench.

Namjoon had to explain his gift to Jimin. He had bought him a bracelet with his name on it. It had his phone number on it, and Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi's names as well to show that he belonged to them. When the human clarified that it was basically a collar, Jimin's eyes widened a bit and he touched his neck. He was very much not a fan of collars, but it seemed that this was very different. And even a regular collar would be much, much better than the branding that he'd heard lots of stories about. 

"Y-You can think about it, you know. You don't have to love it or wear it right away," Namjoon offered. Jimin nodded his head. He would certainly think about it. The hybrid placed the gift on the coffee table with his others.

Apparently the other three hybrids had pitched in and gotten him something together, and they had to explain theirs to him as well.

"It's a gift card," Taehyung started excitedly. "It's got lots of money on it, but it's symbolism, Jimin!!"

Jungkook scoffed but smiled just a bit. Jin rolled his eyes, but tried to pick up where Taehyung had left off. "It just means that the four of us are going to take you shopping, okay? You can spend this money on anything that you want. You can buy clothes, toys, or even food. The point is that we want to spend the day with you,"  _pampering you_ , Jin decidedly left out.

"Yup," Jungkook agreed, looking somewhat forced but not altogether miserable. Jimin could deal with that.

Yoongi had just brought out a new pot of hot chocolate and Jimin happily took a mug to drink when offered.

He liked hot chocolate, and he liked gifts, and he liked snowballs and cake and kisses. He really enjoyed Christmas and the movies they watched the night before. He loved the decorations around the room, and he loved baking cookies with his hyung. He loved going to the park and watching TV and munching on popcorn. He especially appreciated everyone's generosity towards him and their efforts to include him in their previously established lifestyle. Jimin found himself realizing that every day he was here was practically Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK this author note contains: 1) the future plans of this story :D and 2) reasons for my absence!! :O
> 
> 2) (yes we're going out of order) so I've moved back to Canada... And I'm now attending cirque school??? Um so yeah. I had been working multiple jobs over the summer and then I moved over a thousand miles back to my home country. And now I'm training professionally as an acrobat... It's all very time-consuming. Take my word. I do apologize though! Also I'd been spending my time editing earlier chapters (no major plot changes, just grammar stuff) and I only got to like.. chapter 5, but I'll keep working on that lol (that being said... that doesn't mean this chapter has been edited as I was writing it... ha.. ha.. I suck)
> 
> 1) I'm still super excited about this story. I thought I'd come back with some fluff before I hit you with the main climax. So yeah, next chapter is stressful but it's the catalyst for some understanding (finally). Anyways, once this story is finished, I've offically decided that I'll continue a spin-off oneshot series of their lives. (like, Jimin's past, or random cute fluffy things that happen living together as ot7, or learning things, or a character backstory) I wanted to include the cookie scene here as one of those oneshots but I also wanted this chapter to be like, more than 1000 words because that wouldn't be fair for me to come back after all this time and hit you with a tiny chapter (because they're already short enough as it is). So that's an example of what to expect with that series. I'll take recommendations for them later too.
> 
> THANK YOU FOR WAITING


	18. Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for violence & attempted kidnapping

The streets were fairly empty the day after Christmas, which made it much easier for Jimin to enjoy shopping. The four hybrids left the apartment around dinner time to eat at their favourite barbecue restaurant. Jungkook was in charge of grilling the meat, and he took his job very seriously. Taehyung was sitting on his own feet in his excitement, and Jimin was happy to see them all so enthusiastic- especially the youngest. Jimin hadn't seen Jungkook smile very often, so it was certainly a pleasant difference. 

The expensive meal was also a nice change. Jimin was still understanding the concept of money, but Jin had told him that usually, the more expensive the food is, the better it tastes. This somewhat applies to that rule, but Jimin was also reminded that cupcakes aren't very expensive and they still taste amazing, so he wasn't sure what to think exactly. All he knew for sure was that this meal was a very rare opportunity and he was going to savour it. 

They ended up staying for an hour, and the sun was already descending in the sky by the time they left the restaurant. Jimin didn't like being outside at night, but Jin promised that the mall would be well-lit and then they could take a taxi home. The mall was only a few blocks away, so Jimin figured it would be fine. Besides, there were lots of street lights on these sidewalks.

The mall was massive; it was bigger than any building Jimin had ever been in before. There were so many stores they could go to, and Jimin wanted to visit all of them. He was so busy looking up at the tall ceilings that Jin had to pull him out of the trance.

"Do you want to start with clothes? Or toys?"

Jimin thought about that a lot. It would be nice to have some of his own clothes instead of waking up in the morning and putting on Taehyung's t-shirt, Hoseok's pants, Namjoon's socks, and Yoongi's shoes. They bought him his own underwear and a few shirts, but he was jealous of everyone's fun outfits. He never wanted to bring it up for fear of sounding selfish, but he just wanted to look cool like Jungkook.

However, toys also sounded really fun. When Taehyung showed him all of his toys, Jimin really enjoyed it, but he also wanted to play with them. Taehyung said he could use them whenever he wanted to but he was always too afraid to ask, so he just waited for Taehyung to start playing because then he'd invite Jimin to join him. 

Maybe there would be time for both? "Um... Clothes?" That sounded like a good place to start.

Taehyung cheered and led the group towards one of his favourite stores. They spent the next hour bringing different styles of clothing to Jimin in the dressing room to help him find something he might like. He found a jacket he really liked and a couple pairs of jeans. he didn't like the ones that were too tight or the ones that were too baggy because they both restricted his movement in different ways, so it was hard to find ones that fit just right. He was very happy with the clothes that he picked out by the time they left that shop, though.  He found that he didn't enjoy shorts all that much because he had some marks on his legs still that he wasn't quite proud to show off, but he didn't really need to worry about that because it was so cold outside.

Next, Jin convinced him to get a couple pairs of shoes. Taehyung showed him the brand that he likes because they were supposedly "the best for running, Jiminnie, which is very important to the refined game of fetch."

Jimin thought that maybe this was all too much for one day. He really enjoyed his time out with the other hybrids, and he was very happy and excited to wear his new clothes. However, trying on clothes and walking around the big mall was getting very tiring and he wasn't sure that he could handle all the excitement that came with toy shopping. He was perfectly content to play with Taehyung's every once in a while, and he just wanted to lie down for a bit.

When Jin asked what he wanted to do next, he just frowned a bit. They all seemed like they were having fun too, so he didn't want to bring their spirits down by saying he wanted to go home. He also didn't want them to think he was having a bad time, because he really wasn't. There was just a lot of stuff going on and he still got tired very easily. He also had some far-off feeling that somebody was watching him, but he gets that feeling a lot when he's feeling physically drained, so he didn't let himself get worked up over it. He had already seen what his wariness does, especially that one time in the clinic waiting room.

"You okay?" Jin asked kindly.

"Yes!" Jimin was quick to assure. "I'm just feeling a little tired," he said very quietly.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked, and Jimin was thankful for that. Jin-hyung always knew exactly what to say so that Jimin didn't have to say things that were difficult for him. The younger hybrid just nodded as his answer. "Okay! It's no problem. There's still a little bit of money left on this card, but that's okay. We can go to that toy store closer to home another day, alright?" Jimin nodded again with a small smile. He was so grateful for the eldest hybrid's understanding nature. 

Taehyung insisted on carrying all of the bags himself because he thought it made him look really strong, so Jungkook followed behind him to pick up whatever he dropped and stuff it back in the shopping bags. Jin led Jimin in the front of the small group until they got outside and were faced with the overwhelming brightness of the street lights and neon signs lining the sidewalks.

There were a lot more people out here waiting for buses, walking to their cars, strolling on the sidewalks, or trying to hail cabs, and Jimin was visibly uncomfortable with the crowd.

"If it's okay with you," Jin started warily, "we can walk a block or two that way and then call a cab to come pick us up there. It's much less crowded once you get away from the main entrance."

Jin was worried that Jimin wouldn't want to walk so far when the sky was so dark, because he promised that they'd get a taxi to bring them home so he wouldn't have to walk around at night, but a couple blocks shouldn't be too bad. It was better than stuffing themselves on a bus; Jin didn't want to imagine Jimin's reaction to something that foreign to him.

"That's okay, hyung. Thank you." Jimin recognized that Jin was only suggesting they walk so that he'd be more comfortable, and he respected that decision. They continued down the sidewalk in their same formation- this time with Jin holding tightly to Jimin's hand- across a couple crosswalks until the crowd had significantly thinned out and they were only being passed by other people every so often. Jin knew that if Jimin had made it this far already, it'd probably be fine if they just walked the rest of the way, but he promised they'd take a cab and he wasn't going to go back on that. He looked down to the younger hybrid with raised eyebrows. "Does here look like a good place to wait?"

Jimin nodded again. "Yes, hyung."

"Yah!" Taehyung spoke up, looking down to notice a pack of socks had fallen out of one of the shopping bags. "Kookie, you're not doing your job!" He bent down to pick them up and then turned around to continue berating the younger jokingly when he realized there was no one behind him. "Jungkook?" he shouted, causing Jin to look up from his phone where he was about to call the taxi company. The eldest also noticed that they were missing someone.

Jin's heart dropped immediately. "Jungkook!" he yelled. There was no answer, and his panic began to raise. He was in charge of them. How could he lose someone? Was Jungkook playing a trick or did he really get lost?

Taehyung was almost hyperventilating but still had enough wits about him to pull out his phone. "I'm calling him," he said before raising the phone to his ear. Jin tried to calm down and lead Jimin towards a bench to sit down, but Jimin wouldn't budge. He was afraid, too.

Jin was still clutching Jimin's hand as he shouted Jungkook's name to the street. 

"He didn't pick up," Taehyung whimpered, suddenly looking like he might cry.

Jimin's hand was shaking in Jin's grip, but he steeled himself and lifted his nose in the air. He pulled his hand out of Jin's hold and distanced himself from them so as not to get distracted by their scents. The eldest noticed him backing away and tried to reach out to him again, but Jimin was already bolting back the way they came.

"Jimin, no!" Jin yelled after him, mistaking his movement for running away. Jin huffed heavily, grabbing Taehyung's hand instead and ran after Jimin. 

Jimin stopped when the scent got strongest, backing up a bit until he was overwhelmed by the smell of Jungkook and something very familiar to him-- fear. He followed it into the alleyway to his right despite how afraid he was at the sudden lack of light. He could hardly see but he heard scuffling feet moving bodies. Against his better judgement, he followed the sounds.

Jimin could still hear Jin and Taehyung catching up to him, yelling his and Jungkook's names all the while until they stopped at the open end of the alleyway. Jimin ignored their pleas to come back because he'd suddenly found what he was looking for. In the crevice just between a dumpster and a chain-link fence at the back end of the alley was a human man holding his friend tightly.

A lot of sensations hit Jimin at once. He was afraid for Jungkook. He smelled blood, but immediately noticed that it was coming from the human's arm where it was wrapped around Jungkook's chest, who was continuing to scratch him up in his struggle. Through the darkness, he saw the frightened glint of Jungkook's eyes, and with the help of the vague moonlight and distant street lamps, he was able to make out a cloth that the human was holding up to Jungkook's face, muffling his cries. Jimin didn't recognize whatever smell was emanating from that cloth, but it was chemical and was obviously not natural, so it must be a threat.

All of those observations and emotions coursed through Jimin's whole body in the span of one second, because in the very next, he was already acting.

His hand went straight for the human's that was holding Jungkook against him, because he couldn't do any damage until he had a clear target. Jimin yanked hard, pulling the two out of the corner. The man's shock caused him to lose his hold on the hybrid, who fell to the ground and immediately crawled away through his heaving coughs.

Jimin would have sighed at the signs of life, but he had no time as he was pinning the man back up against the dumpster with his arm pinned behind his back. The human howled in pain and Jimin brought his other hand up to grab the other's hair, pulling his head back and slamming it against the metal of the dumpster. Jimin tightened his hold on the other's arm he had pinned behind his own back.

When the man gained just an inkling of his senses, he tried swinging around with his free arm, and Jimin ducked and let go to avoid being hit. He wasn't truly afraid for his life because he could tell when someone was grasping at straws in a fight, and this man clearly didn't know what he was doing. He was nothing compared to what Jimin's seen, so when the human came forward with punch, Jimin easily countered by dodging to the side, gripping the human's wrist, and then bringing his knee right up into his stomach with a loud, menacing growl. 

The human collapsed to the ground in a heap, groaning as he writhed on the concrete. Jimin stepped hard on his wrist, just to add insult to injury.

However, as quickly as he had switched into the fight, the adrenaline passed, and he was left horrified at himself. His head gradually turned to the entrance of the alleyway where he'd last heard from Jin and Taehyung only to see them both on their knees holding a trembling Jungkook but looking straight at Jimin. The youngest had his eyes closed, but Jimin could see quite clearly in the limited lighting the expressions of the other two. They were frozen in place, faces reflecting shock and horror.

Jimin's stomach dropped in that split second between looking up and coming to a decision.  _Oh god_ , he thought.  _What have I just done_? He didn't give himself much time to consider all of his options before he was sidestepping the body on the ground in his haste to haul himself up on top of the dumpster and then launch himself over the chain fence. He made quick work of climbing down the other side, sparing only a glance before turning his back and running off into the woods.

* * *

 

Jin had sent Taehyung after Jimin--having far more trust in the younger's canine tracking ability than his own--which left him alone with Jungkook and a handful of shopping bags on a more or less abandoned stretch of sidewalk. None of the buildings surrounding them had open businesses to hide out in, but Jin was determined to remove the youngest from the situation as soon as possible. The human was obviously indisposed, but Jin still thought it best to escape to somewhere more populated.

Jungkook's legs shook and struggled to hold himself up when Jin had stood. He was dizzy and disoriented from his fear and whatever it was the man was forcing him to inhale. Once upright, he couldn't help the lurching in his stomach that caused him to retch onto the concrete between his feet and his hyung's. He didn't notice Jin's hands holding him up under his armpits nor how tightly Jungkook was gripping the older's coat sleeves, but he knew that somehow he was staying on his feet even when his trembling limbs told him he shouldn't be.

Jin's voice faded into his consciousness only a moment later.

"-ou hear me? Jungkookie, please say something. Can you stand? Are you okay?"

"Hyung," Jungkook managed to croak out.

He could practically feel Jin's relief. "Oh god, come here. Get on my back," he ordered, bending down. It wasn't hard for Jungkook to get on; he simply draped himself over Jin's warmth and held on for dear life. He felt the older lifting him with a grip on his legs and then immediately moving away from the alleyway. Jungkook closed his eyes--feeling dizzy again--and buried his face between Jin's shoulder blades. He vaguely listened while Jin negotiated with a human couple, and a moment later, he was being put down inside of a car. He recognized the divider between the front and back seats as soon as he opened his eyes, and knew they had made it into a taxi. Jin clumsily climbed in over him with the plastic shopping bags and sat in the middle seat just to be closer, which Jungkook appreciated for once.

His eyes were glassy and he stopped listening again while Jin gave directions, focusing instead on the feeling of Jin pulling the seatbelt over Jungkook's body and buckling it in on his opposite side. He stopped paying attention to even that until his own phone was being pressed into his ear and he heard Yoongi's voice coming through. Jungkook let out a sob at the sound and clutched Jin's hand, reaching up to hold the phone with his other.

" _Jungkookie, it's Yoongi-hyung. You're on your way back, okay? Try not to worry- take deep breaths and you'll be home in no time okay?_ "

Jungkook nodded, and it didn't even cross his mind that the person on the other end of the line couldn't see him. He let his tears flow freely as he continued listening to his human's soothing words. 

After getting the cab driver and Jungkook taken care of, Jin reached for his cellphone and called the police. He was holding himself back from hyperventilating, trying to be the mature one to get everything handled. He couldn't believe he let this happen under his watch, but that doesn't change the fact that it did happen and all he could do now was whatever it took to fix it.

He stayed calm enough to relay the location of the attack and a brief description. All the while, he held tightly onto Jungkook's hand, stroking his knuckles with his thumb. Immediately after hanging up with the emergency operator, he called Taehyung only to receive his voicemail message. Jin tried not to let that bother him too much; maybe he'd found Jimin after all and just had his hands tied calming him down.

Jin wanted to call Namjoon next, but they were almost home and he would much rather talk to him in person than over the phone. 

* * *

 

Jimin wasn't stupid- he could hear Taehyung's voice following him, but it grew more distant the farther he ran into the woods. His feet were crunching against the crisp snow and remaining leaves littering the ground, but his breathing was much heavier than any other sound he could have produced. He had a hard time dodging tree trunks and branches in the near pitch blackness, but his panic pushed him to continue.

His mind was racing but he shoved it all aside in his need to escape. It wasn't until he hadn't heard Taehyung's shouting for several minutes that he slowed his footsteps and allowed himself to catch his breath. His ankle was killing him and his lungs burned in their desperation for oxygen. He didn't allow himself to remain stationary, however. He continued to walk on aching, trembling legs for as long as they would let him. He was guided by nothing but the moonlight, which was more vibrant out here than it was where he'd started.

Eventually, his throbbing ankle could hold him no longer and he resigned himself to taking a break on the cold, wet ground with his back up against the nearest tree. He was still gasping for breath as he leaned his head back against the bark to look up at the sky through the barren, crooked branches. Jimin was never a fan of the dark. He wouldn't say he was afraid of it, but it certainly made him uncomfortable. It was one thing to sleep in a dark room, but this was different. This was the great outdoors--the possibilities were endless. He had no idea what was out here. 

Jimin tried to find the moon for guidance. He needed something to look up to in this situation, considering he may have just committed to spending the rest of his life running away and sleeping in trees-- hiding until he dies from cold or hunger. He doesn't know what's to come, but he knows he can't go back to where he was before.

He hurt someone today. He hurt a human who wasn't even attacking him. A small part of him told him that maybe it was nice to have fought for someone other than himself, but all other parts of his mind squashed that theory as soon as it came to him.  _No more fighting_. That phrase had been drilled into his head since he had been in the hospital after Namjoon and Jin found him.  _No more fighting_. Jimin simply couldn't believe he'd let his instincts lead him. There were so many other options he could have taken.

Grab Jungkook and run. Let Jin-hyung call a human for help. Had he given himself just one more second to think before attacking, maybe he wouldn't have resorted to violence like some sort of beast. He couldn't get the looks on Jin and Taehyung's faces out of his head. They were afraid of him. He didn't want them to be afraid of him; he wanted them to go back to calling him cute and telling him that he was safe. He wanted that so badly now that he knew they would never look at him the same way again. Now that he couldn't possibly be promised safety out here all alone.

Even with his ears tucked up underneath his warm hat, the hybrid shivered from the freezing weather. He pulled his tail up into his lap and gripped it with trembling hands in his anxiety. Jimin knew for sure that he was tired, afraid, and ashamed, but all of his other emotions were a blur--none of them sticking around long enough for him to be able to identify them. He tried as hard as he could to focus only on what he knew.  He knew that he was lost and that he was cold, but the only other thing he was sure of was they there was no way he could go back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did I say.


	19. Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ****  
> Hey guys~ how are you all doing?  
>   
> 
> ****  
> Here's the next update. As usual, obviously not edited because I'm a piece of shit xD  
>   
> 
> ****  
> But anyway. Remember that picture I linked y'all to of my friend's Fire nail art design thing? Well she's done it again with[BS&T](https://www.instagram.com/p/BMX6hmTBL_4/?taken-by=ellisy_lsc&hl=en). I hate having talented friends XD oh my goodness.  
>   
> 
> **ANYWAY that very same person was at CL's Hello Bitches north american tour thing in Atlanta (I wanted to go to the one in Toronto so fucking bad but it's like, over 5 hours away by car and I don't have gas money lol......) and said the people waiting behind her in line mentioned this fic when talking about their favourite kpop fanfiction!!! So if you're reading this right now, I appreciate it a lot!!! Know that you were heard:D Love y'all~~~**

Yoongi, Hoseok, and Namjoon were waiting outside the apartment building when Jin and Jungkook's cab finally pulled up in front. Time moved quickly as Namjoon and Yoongi helped the hybrids climb out while Hoseok paid the driver and picked up the shopping bags from the backseat.

Hoseok tried to be the voice of reason despite his confusion and worry; he and Namjoon still weren't entirely filled in on what happened since Yoongi had been a little preoccupied on the phone to tell them. Regardless, the human ushered them all inside, trying not to let his heart clench at the sight of Jungkook looking so small- even next to Yoongi.

It was only once everyone was gathered in the living room and Hoseok had already put a kettle on to prepare tea that he found it appropriate to ask the question that had been rattling around his mind ever since only two hybrids exited the cab. Normally, he'd lead with 'what happened?' but that's surprisingly not what worried him the most. "Where's... Where are Tae and Jimin?" Besides, he figured that question would lead to discussion about what happened eventually.

Jin sniffled and scooted over on the sofa so his leg was touching his owner's before answering Hoseok's question. "Jimin ran away and Taehyung's out trying to find him. He won't answer his phone. I'm sorry."

He seemed torn up, and Hoseok wasn't trying to be accusatory. "No, that wasn't- I'm just... trying to understand," the human assured. "Everything's fine," he said, hearing Namjoon repeat that sentiment to Jin in a whisper. He was worried for Taehyung, but he couldn't do anything without any information.

"It was just," Jin began, sighing heavily and glancing over apologetically at Jungkook. "Jungkook was walking behind us all and I wasn't paying attention." He ran a hand down his face in some obvious sign of stress, and then averted his eyes from the youngest who was currently being wrapped in blanket after blanket by his own owner.

"Somebody- I don't know, some random guy- must have grabbed him, I- I'm sorry, I didn't notice." He directed his apology towards Jungkook--who had clearly checked out of the conversation in his quest for comfort--and Yoongi--who was eager to provide that comfort. Yoongi's eyes softened even more at the eldest hybrid's apology, and opened his mouth to assure him that he wasn't to blame, but Jin continued. "Jimin- he- Jimin saved him. He tracked him and fought the guy off, but I think he got scared after that, because he just... ran. I asked Taehyung to follow him to see if he could find him, but I haven't heard from either of them."

Namjoon shot a look at Hoseok. "Could you maybe try to get in contact with Taehyung? Or Jimin? Maybe see if the police can help us track him if you can't get in touch with them..." Hoseok nodded shakily and moved to the kitchen while Namjoon crossed the room to get to the other pair. He knelt down, and Jin recognized his 'doctor' face. It was all-business.

"Jungkookie, are you hurt?" he asked gently.

The hybrid looked up from his blankets and shook his head.

"Okay. Did he hit you on the head?" He knew that the only way no one would have noticed his absence was if he was prohibited from screaming somehow, but it would seem patronizing to ask directly. "Anything."

Jungkook shook his head again, seemingly not keen on talking at the moment.

He reached a hand up to wipe at his sniffling nose and Namjoon caught sight of his bloody claws still drawn, which was a sign that he still felt unsafe and threatened. He took a moment to blink slowly. "Let's clean your hand, okay?" He turned back towards the other sofa to see if anyone would be up to fetching the first aid kit and Jin hopped up--eager to help and understanding that look instantly. 

Yoongi hadn't stopped petting Jungkook's hair since they sat down, and it seemed to calm him down in the time it took Jin to return with the kit.

"Is there anything I can do?" the hybrid asked cautiously, switching his weight from foot to foot anxiously behind Namjoon. The human had begun cleaning the blood from Jungkook's claws with disinfectant when Jin spoke up. Namjoon looked up at him sympathetically from where he was kneeling in front of the sofa. 

"If... If you think you can, I think we need to report the attack to the police. I don't know if you got the street or-"

"I already did that," Jin insisted. "In the cab."

"Good, good," Namjoon replied distractedly, wishing he had the presence of mind to give his full attention to his clearly shaken hybrid, but he had to make sure Jungkook wasn't hurt somehow that wasn't visible to them. "I think Hoseok would really benefit from your help right now." Namjoon took a deep breath while Jin hurriedly turned around and rushed to the kitchen to offer his services. "Now be honest," Namjoon directed to the youngest again. "Do we need to take you to a hospital?"

"No," Jungkook whined, pulling his now clean hands away from the human. "He just did... like, in the movies," he said awkwardly, miming the covering his mouth.

"Oh," Namjoon said conclusively. "He tried to drug you then. I'm going to ask you a few questions, okay?"

Yoongi slipped his arm around Jungkook's shoulders and tightened his grip. The young hybrid sat up straighter and took a deep breath.

"I know this may seem silly, but you know what the day is, right?"

"It's the day after Christmas."

"Okay good. Do you feel sick to your stomach?"

"Yeah, but it's not so bad anymore. My hands just won't stop shaking." Yoongi tutted softly in sympathy and kissed the knotted hair on the side of Jungkook's head. "It was- I don't know. It felt really bad, but it's better now."

"What was bad about it?" Namjoon asked for clarification.

"I tried to- tried to hold my breath, I promise," Jungkook insisted. "But it was too much and I was..." he didn't have to say the word  _scared_  for everyone to understand. "And then I couldn't feel my hands and I couldn't stand right."

Namjoon nodded slowly. "Okay. Okay, you'll be fine, I promise."

"I- I know, I already feel okay."

"Did he- I don't know. Did he say anything?" the human pushed, trying to get information on how or why this happened.

"No, I- well, I don't know. I don't think so. I couldn't- or I wasn't-"

Yoongi shushed him quietly. "You're fine. Don't worry," he assured the hybrid, who seemed a bit panicky at his inability to answer the question. "There was a lot going on. It's fine if you don't remember everything." Jungkook nodded at his owner's words, letting them sink in. In the quietness that overtook the three, Namjoon was able to pick up raised voices from the kitchen now.

As he went to investigate, Yoongi nudged Jungkook gently. "You okay, kid?" Jungkook nodded. He tucked his head underneath his owner's chin in a rare attempt at cuddling. "Do you want to go to bed maybe?" the human suggested, wishing there was more he could do. 

"No, I- well, I want to wait for hyung."

"Hyung?" Yoongi asked for clarification. Did he need to call Namjoon back into the room?

"Jimin-hyung."

Yoongi didn't let the younger see his surprise. He couldn't believe he'd been so caught up in Jungkook that he completely forgot that he had been saved bravely by their newest addition, who was currently completely MIA. He was also surprised at Jungkook's use of the honorific to refer to the other hybrid, but was understanding of it. "Okay. Do you want some water? Food? Head-scratches?" he asked cutely--a rarity if nothing else.

"No. Just cuddles."

* * *

 

"Hobi-hyung, I'm really sorry," Taehyung whimpered into his phone. "I completely lost his trail. It's- It's cold and I can't feel my nose anymore," he pouted, feeling nothing short of useless.

" _Hey, quit your worrying. Just tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up. Shit, I'm just glad you're okay. I'll send Namjoonie out with posters or something._ "

"Should we tell the cops? Will they come out and look for him?" Taehyung huffed, rubbing his gloved hand against his frozen nose as he made his way towards the nearest main road. 

" _Not until he's been declared officially missing,"_ Hoseok explained. " _Jin and I already tried, but we gave them his description anyway just in case someone catches him on patrol. Look, don't worry about it. I promise we'll find him by tomorrow. Now, where are you? I'm already on my way to the car_."

Taehyung squinted his eyes at the street signs as he stilled beneath a streetlamp. "I'm at the corner of 12th and Main?" he replied, unsure if that could possibly be right. There's no way he's covered that much distance on foot.

" _Damn_ ," Hoseok commented. " _Alright I'm on my way with Namjoon-hyung._ "

"How's... How's Jungkookie?" was Taehyung's next question. He was truly worried for everybody- Jungkook must be terrified, Jin is probably mentally beating himself up by now, and Jimin's lost and alone outside at night.

" _He'll be fine,_ " Hoseok assured him, and he suddenly heard more clearly the sounds of a car engine and shuffling about, which means that he probably put his phone on the speaker so he could drive. " _He's a little shaken up, but he'll be okay_." 

"Did you find out what happened?" he pushed. "I didn't really... see much." Taehyung glanced around for the nearest bench, spotting one across the street and heading over to wait for his owner to find him.

" _Not totally sure._ " This time it was Namjoon's voice coming through the speaker. " _I'm still trying to work that out."_

"Do you think he was going to sell him off?" Taehyung asked with a trembling voice as he sat down on the cold, wet bench.

" _I don't know, I'm going to try to follow up with the police tomorrow_ ," Namjoon continued. Hoseok interjected, however. " _That's enough of that. He's safe now, and so are you._ "

Taehyung sighed, grateful for Hoseok's attempt at optimism, but... "Jiminnie's not safe..."

" _I already told you we'll find him. You and I can look from the car, and you can just point Namjoon in the direction you thought he was going, and he'll go on foot. We'll find him._ "

* * *

 

Jimin debated with his current options- which were few.

He could get back up and keep moving before he was tracked down by Taehyung (he wasn't entirely sure why Taehyung was following him, but at this point in his life, he wasn't ready to find out). 

He could stay and rest for longer, which seemed far more appealing by the second despite being wet all over from the snow seeping through his layers of clothing.

He could call somebody and apologize... That certainly didn't sound ideal. He was sure the others had told the humans about what he did, and he just wasn't ready to face it.

The thing is, Jimin knew that he had crossed a line this time. He knew that it annoyed his new owners when he did things like not wearing his sling that one time, or when he growled at the other hybrid at the clinic. Those times, he was easily reassured by the others that they weren't angry with him and he didn't do anything explicitly wrong. This time was different, though. This time, he most certainly did something wrong--so horribly wrong that even he knew it wasn't okay. 

Jimin decided ultimately to keep moving. While he wished he could just sit against this tree until he'd sorted through his emotions, he was wet and cold and uncomfortable. At least when he was walking, he could put his focus on other things... like making sure he didn't run into trees... His ankle throbbed while he was sitting, and the stinging pain of walking was almost preferable at this point.

He stood with some effort and made his way slowly in the same direction that he'd initially been running, only realizing now just how lost he was. He could walk in the same direction forever but he had no idea what was beyond this extensive patch of woods. Jimin whimpered quietly when he realized he might just have to wait until the sun rises again before he can actually see where he's going. Still, he hates the idea of sitting and doing nothing--which would force him to confront his thoughts for hours on end--so he keeps walking with his hands running along branches and tree trunks, reaching out in front of him every once in a while to make sure he doesn't run straight into something hard.

Jimin audibly gasped when he tripped over something on the ground, and he was too busy steadying his balance to see if it was a rock or a root. Once he'd righted himself again, he let out a loud groan of frustration and kept moving. This was a lot harder than it should have been. Sure, he had no idea where he was going... and his lack of sight provided no help at all... and every step he took at this point was pain... and maybe all he wanted to do was curl up in his new socks with a mug of hot chocolate and someone to scratch his ears to his heart's content.

 _I bet Hoseok-hyung would do that for me_.

Jimin actually whimpered out loud, wishing his thoughts weren't going against his new resolve. He couldn't even be on his own side.

In the distance, he could gradually see the woods thinning out and Jimin soon found himself walking around the perimeter of a chain link fence of an empty construction zone towards the faraway light coming from what must be a streetlamp. He'd reached civilization again. Slowly, as though cautious of someone being awake and wandering about at this time of night, Jimin crept onto the street and looked around.

It seemed very different from where he lived with the others--the tall apartment buildings and sidewalks. This seemed to be a much more residential area with driveways instead of parking decks and bus stops. Standing in the middle of the empty street, Jimin decided to walk along it to see where it got him. It felt like he'd been walking forever already, but this still wasn't a good area to settle down. To be fair, it was pretty apparent that no one was awake around here because none of the houses were lighting up from the inside, so he should be fairly safe from humans for the time being. The same could not be said for when the sun rises, so he kept moving against his body's protests.

Several times, he slipped his gloved hands into his back pocket just to grip the cellphone there. He had no intentions of using it, but for some odd reason, it was a comfort to him. This was bought for him as a gift, which is incredibly special. However, at the same time, it made him especially sad that he had to leave it all behind for a moment of weakness. It simultaneously reminded him of his mistake and of the people who had given him a home. Jimin yanked his hand out of his pocket as if the device had shocked him, guilt eating him alive. Those humans and hybrids had opened their home to him--welcomed him with open arms despite his past--and this is how he repaid them.

Jimin may have been caught up in his thoughts, but his acute sense of hearing definitely picked up on the faraway crunch of tires on the snowy road even with his ears tucked up into a warm hat. Moments later, he saw the headlights rounding a corner.

Jimin panicked, looking left to right and practically spinning in circles as he searched desperately for a hiding spot. Between two houses to his left was a low concrete wall--only a meter high at best-- and Jimin started running towards it. He only slipped once when his ankle refused to cooperate with the icy ground, but had scrabbled up rather quickly. Still, he was certain he felt the headlights on him just as he leapt over the half wall. Quickly, he dropped to the ground and crawled up against the wall to hide. With his heart beating out of his chest and his breath coming out in quick pants from fear, it was hard to focus on other sounds. Still, it wasn't hard to distinguish the sound of the car's engine approaching... and then stopping.

"Hello?" an unknown female voice called out.

Jimin wanted to cry. He could get up and keep running now, but that would certainly alert the human to his presence on the off chance that they hadn't noticed him and were simply suspicious of movement. As quietly as he could, he laid down on his side with his back pressed as closely to the concrete wall as he could without molding himself into it and covered his mouth with his hand even though his gloves were covered in wet and dirty snow at this point. 

The hybrid soon realized he was shit out of luck when he heard footsteps approaching him quickly. Glancing up towards the sky, he saw the light from what must be a flashlight shining overhead and moments later, straight at him. Jimin's breath caught in his throat as the woman nearly screamed. He scrambled away from the wall, scooting backwards on his butt in an attempt to inch away slowly.

"Hi there," the woman said. "Are you lost?"

Jimin didn't respond but to growl low in his throat.

"Oh, I'm not here to hurt you, I promise. I just thought you might have lost your way home in the dark."

She seemed kind enough, but Jimin simply didn't have enough experience with female humans to know if they were as bad as male strangers could be. He growled louder, trying to send the message that she should leave him alone, but she only gasped and began stepping over the low wall herself which sent Jimin into a full-on panic.

The hybrid leapt to his feet and launched handfuls of crunchy snow in her direction before running away. The last thing he heard before losing her completely were the low-spoken words of "I would like to report a hostile stray."

Jimin ran fast, the thought of being reported to anyone simply terrifying him to push himself farther. What if 'they' turned him in to the fighters as punishment for running away and causing people so much trouble? Eventually he slowed down to catch his breath again at a playground. Jimin had seen these before at the park that Hoseok used to take him to, but the playful colours of the metal here were different from the other. He was used to seeing the fun yellow and red playground but this one was an ugly brown and green which oddly seemed to match his mood.

Looking up at it sadly, Jimin understood that this might be his best bet for somewhere to hide until morning. He pulled himself up onto one of the levels with cold, aching fingers and crawled into a wide tube hoping that its walls would break the wind from whipping against his dry face. Once he'd settled in the middle of the tube he tried to return his breathing to a more natural level. Jimin knew that the first step to calming down when faced with a scary situation was to not let your panic win. If he breathes deeply and slowly, he can fool himself into maybe not being afraid. It had worked only a handful of times in the past, but it was always worth a shot. Still, the fear of maybe being followed--or worse, tracked down by whoever that human had called and reported him--was keeping him from fully achieving the calmness he so craved. 

Jimin gasped as a sudden idea hit him, and he was embarrassed that he hadn't realized this sooner. Maybe... maybe he knew somebody who was impartial and might know what to do right now. 

He had to squirm a bit uncomfortably to extract his phone from his pocket--and the light from the screen nearly blinded him as badly as that human's flashlight--but he swiped it with a finger to open it up. Nothing happened. He swiped again, still with no result. The screen went black again from inactivity, and Jimin had to press the button on the bottom to light it back up. Desperately, he tried using each one of his fingers earning nothing but smears of brown snow and water droplets from his dirty gloves across the screen. 

Whining in frustration, Jimin let his hybrid instincts take over and nosed at the device sadly in a last desperate attempt to get it to respond. Shockingly, the screen changed to his regular home page and he was in. Trying not to be too surprised, he quickly tapped on the telephone button, but once again, nothing happened. Jimin almost groaned in frustration as he raised the phone towards his face again and went crosseyed as he tried to find the correct button to press with his cold nose. He might have been embarrassed at how he was using his cellphone in a way that he hadn't seen any of the others use, but there was no one around to witness so it was okay. 

There were only two strings of characters with no photo attached, but Jimin didn't care which one he reached. He used his nose once again to tap the first one and then held the humming phone up to his ear.

It rang several times, and Jimin began to get disheartened when he heard a click and then a groggy " _Hello, Kwon Jiyong speaking._ "

The hybrid nearly dropped his phone in relief at hearing the voice and he almost forgot to respond. "Um... I just... I'm sorry, really. It's- uh... I think I- I don't know, I'm sorry."

" _It's... It's alright. Who is this?_ " 

Jimin almost smacked himself in the forehead. "Oh! I'm- Well, my name i- I mean... It's..." He was flustered and having trouble getting his words out due to his unease with the situation. Reaching out for help was clearly not his strong suit--especially when he wasn't entirely sure it would be provided.

" _Hey. Calm down. Take deep breaths._ " The human's voice sounded slightly more awake and aware now.

"Okay," Jimin whispered, resuming his attempts at deep breathing.

" _Alright. Can you tell me your name?_ "

"It's Jimin. I- I messed up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we take a moment to talk about the word "whilst" in reference to the English language?  
> We're gonna have a little lesson here.  
> Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a perfect writer. This is just something that gets on my nerves.  
> "Whilst" is not a commonly used word. It is virtually nonexistent in Canadian and American English, and only used in very specific regional locations in Great Britain and, even more rarely, Australia. First off, the word is not entirely interchangeable with "while." They have the same definition technically but it can't replace it in all of its uses. 'While' has more possible definitions than 'whilst.' For example: "While that may work for you, it doesn't for me" is correct grammatically. However, replacing 'while' with 'whilst' makes it very incorrect in that context.  
> Second, if your writing does not entirely reflect British English, using 'whilst' looks very out of place and jarring in a bad way. What I mean by that is if you are not using other vocabulary and writing techniques that are indicative of those regional areas where 'whilst' is used acceptably, it makes your writing really disjointed. Also, if your characters are not British/Scottish/whatever, they would never ever ever use it in their dialogue. I realize that people think it makes them sound scholarly, but that is not the case in reality.
> 
> Awesome. Nice chat.
> 
> Please await the next chapter lol XD


	20. Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please excuse the numerous errors, as I have some sort of inherent avoidance to reading my own work (which means editing it takes forever and is currently out of the question)....

Jiyong entered Youngbae's bedroom and shook him awake while he was still on the line with Jimin.

The older hybrid was rather quick to pick up on the urgency of the situation as he was awoken to the noise of his owner's calming voice speaking to someone other than himself. After all, this isn't the first time since joining the rehabilitation program that they were awoken in the middle of the night for a relapsed hybrid. Youngbae had no doubts that it was in regard their newest rescue- Jimin. They hadn't heard from him or his owners (and thankfully not the hospital) for a couple weeks which probably means they haven't experienced a major incident until now.

Youngbae listened quietly to the conversation as he continued waking up, hoping to get more of an idea of the context.

"That's great; it really is, Jimin. I'm very proud of you. Do you know where you are?" the human spoke into the phone as he moved out into the hallway.

Youngbae's ears perked just a bit. He was right in his assuptions, but it was rather rare that they be contacted by the hybrids themselves (and if they did, it was usually Youngbae they called instead of Jiyong), which raised some red flags already. 

"That's fine. What do you see around you?" Jiyong continued gathering information.

There were a few reasons that a recently rehabilitated hybrid might be calling them alone from an unknown location, and none of which were ideal. It was usually the most common explanation--running away--but even that might have more serious undertones. Perhaps the new home wasn't a good fit, or the owners were mistreating him. Maybe he got into an argument or even a physical altercation with any of his new housemates. Maybe he'd been kicked out. There were even a few instances that Youngbae had only heard of where hybrids were recaptured and required much more than the two of them driving out in their minivan to pick them up.

Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the current situation seeing as Jiyong's calm urgency hadn't exceeded the acceptable level. Still, this was rather familiar territory and Youngbae knew the drill here. He was trained to do this after all. Owners are not to be contacted until they have physically met with the hybrid in question to ensure their safety. When faced with situations where rehabilitated hybrids run away, they first must confirm that their new owner is not mistreating or abusing them before returning them to their home. Right now, that just meant that Youngbae could do nothing until Jiyong acquired Jimin's location.

"Is there a school nearby?" the human continued speaking while Youngbae stood and put on some proper clothes. "Do you think you could check? ... Well how about- oh. That's wonderful. What does it say? Can you get any closer? ... Ah, no. I understand. You stay off your foot okay? It was brown and yellow, you say? ... Oh, green, I'm sorry."

Youngbae met his owner in the hallway just as they seemed to be getting somewhere in the telephone conversation. He pulled up his phone's GPS and handed it over to the human silently. Jiyong took it with a tired grin and started typing away with his own phone tucked between his ear and shoulder.

"Yes, I think I know. We will be there in... 15 to 20 minutes," he said, reading the GPS's estimated time with squinted eyes.

As the two are putting on their shoes and walking down to the car, Youngbae is silent as Jiyong continues to assuage the young hybrid's worries and fears over the phone. While the human sets up his phone's bluetooth system in the car so he can drive without having to hold the cellphone to his ear, Youngbae does a quick check of the minivan's trunk to ensure their emergency bag is still there. Once confirming, he hops into the front seat.

"I really want you to stay on the phone while we come get you, is it okay if Youngbae listens in too?" Jiyong says, though the phone is already connected to the car's speaker system. He pulls out of the silent parking lot as he waits for an answer.

" _Yes_."

It's the first time Youngbae's hearing Jimin's voice tonight, and he almost visibly winces at its roughness. He doesn't remember it sounding like this when they met at the hospital, but then again, Jimin hardly said anything at all to him back then.

"Hi Jimin," Youngbae says to provide proof of his presence. "We're on our way, alright?"

" _Y-You really don't- I was ju-"_

"Hey, I already told you it's fine," Jiyong interjected. "We're going to come pick you up so we can chat. Just sit tight."

For the rest of the ride, the young hybrid did nothing but hum in response to their questions and it might have worried the two professionals had they not been in this position so many times. No matter how dire the situation, the fact that Jimin had reached out to them was a definite step in the right direction--not to mention a point in their favor when it came to fixing the problem.

Jiyong took the phone off of bluetooth when they pulled into the parking lot of a primary school Youngbae had honestly never seen before. It was really out of the way of the rest of Seoul, and he wondered how Jimin potentially ended up here. 

"So I think I'm here, where did you say you were again?" the human said as he unbuckled and exited the car. Youngbae followed his lead, once again stopping by the trunk to grab the duffel bag and follow his owner.

"Okay, I think I see what you're talking about. Give me just one moment."

Jiyong was leading him towards the playground, and once they were both standing on the soggy mulch, Jiyong brought the phone down from his ear to press against his chest.

"Jimin?" he called quietly into the windy night.

Youngbae registered a thump inside of the playground equipment and located the hiding hybrid with his sense of smell to be above the ground in a the play tunnel (he almost winced at the amount of fear he picked up on). He placed the duffel bag on the ground before he glanced towards Jiyong for his approval to approach, and only moved forward once the human gave him a short nod.

"Hey Jimin," Youngbae spoke softly as he climbed a short ladder to get onto the structure. He faintly heard a small "hi" in response as more thumping occurred from inside the tunnel. Youngbae moved carefully over the slippery playground equipment until he was squatting right outside the dark green tube.

"It's nice to see you again, Jimin. I bet you're cold- would you like a blanket?"

Jimin had his arms wrapped around his torso--though because he was freezing or trying to protect himself, Youngbae wasn't able to say. The younger hybrid looked up slowly before nodding embarrassedly. Youngbae only nodded back before turning his head and mouthing 'blanket' towards his owner. 

While Jiyong fetched the item from their emergency bag, Youngbae turned back towards Jimin. "Are you hurt at all?" he asked delicately. This was basically second nature at this point--the way he can put aside the real issues and focus on taking care of immediate needs for the sake of others' mental health.

"N-No," Jimin whimpered, and Youngbae picked up on the way he was shivering. He glanced behind him to see Jiyong walking over towards them with the blanket before Jimin continued speaking. "It's just... just my foot, but.. that's old, right?"

Jiyong stayed on the ground, but handed the old blanket up through the metal bars of the playground for his hybrid to grab. Youngbae unfolded it and held it out towards Jimin while he responded. "That's fine. Do you think you might need to go to the hospital?"

"No," Jimin quickly replied, shaking his head. He shakily held his hand out to retrieve the blanket as he silently assessed his own physical condition. _It's not that bad, right_? _Clearly there are more important things to deal with right now._  Jimin sat forward painfully as he wrapped the stiff blanket around his shoulders. "I- Well, I hurt someone else..." he trailed off, looking down and away from the older hybrid. He was convinced he would see nothing but disappointment and possibly anger in the other's features. "I'm sorry," he added quickly. "I really didn't mean to..."

Youngbae controlled his expression instantly so as not to show anything that may be misconstrued by the younger, but Jimin wasn't even looking at him. "That's okay, why don't you come out for a bit? Jiyongie has a heater in his car and we can talk somewhere warm."

Jimin wanted to believe the other hybrid because he wanted to be in a warm place and maybe talk this out, but he didn't quite trust them fully. How was he to know that they wouldn't drive him straight back to the dealers again, or drop him off at the shelter?

Jimin had only hesitated for a moment, but Youngbae was already backtracking. "It's fine to say no. We can stay right here." He shifted into a kneeling position once he realized he might be squatting there for quite a while while Jiyong backed up from the main playground structure to a respectable distance.

Jimin chanced another glance in Youngbae's direction, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself as he did so. Seeing the other's patient, indifferent expression, Jimin would have given anything to be someone like Youngbae. He hadn't necessarily addressed this feeling before, but he was blown away by how...  _tame_  the elder was. They had come from the same place and yet Youngbae was confident, mature, and--dare he say it--kind. He seems to be unaffected while Jimin has difficulty doing the simplest of things. He knows deep down that it's not like Youngbae was instantly 'cured'--he'd even said it himself--but Jimin still felt so far behind and ashamed at his lack of progress. It felt more like regression at this point.

"Y-You don't understand. I hurt someone really bad," Jimin whispered, holding eye contact.

Youngbae sensed that Jimin may be ready to talk about this in detail despite his ashamed expression. "Can you tell me who?"

Jimin shuddered at the memory of the man's evil-looking eyes and Jungkook's own filled with terror. "I-I don't know him..."

Youngbae shifted positions once again, gripping the side rail for balance while trying not to make Jimin feel trapped inside the small tunnel. "How did you run into him?"

"I don't know, he was just outside."

Youngbae nodded slowly, trying to piece things together. He knew from experience that something had to have set Jimin off. He wouldn't have attacked for nothing. Fear and obligation were the strongest motivators for him personally when he used to be a fighter. "Did somebody tell you to hurt him?" He couldn't imagine any of Jimin's new owners being bad people, but he's learned that even the cruellest of people are capable of putting on a believable mask for the public.

"No," Jimin whined, shaking his head. He wanted to justify his actions--make them sound less terrible than they were--but he knew better. He would receive punishment sooner or later.

"Did he frighten you?" Youngbae was pushing but he knew Jimin wasn't going to crack from the pressure. 

"No, he didn't really- I mean, I guess I was a little scared..."  _but not for myself_. "He was- he tried to hurt Jungkook, and I know it was still wrong and I should have let someone else take care of it, but it happened so fast, and I'm really sorry. I really am..."

Youngbae didn't know the entire situation, but he knew one thing. "It's not your fault, okay?" He didn't know the extent of the injuries on either side. For all he knew, this mysterious person could have tripped Jungkook with some sort of odd, malicious intent leading to Jimin potentially coming close to killing him for that, but that didn't seem all that likely. Protecting other people wasn't an instinct they had with the way they were raised. Something deeply troubling must have happened to inspire that kind of reaction from Jimin.

"It can't...  _not_  be my fault; I hurt him," Jimin insisted. "You didn't see it. I- He was bleeding and h-he didn't get up from the ground..." Jimin had to stop when he felt his throat threaten to close up. He made a silent promise to himself to never cry in front of Youngbae and he didn't intend to break it because of this stupid mistake.

"That doesn't matter. It's in the past, and it's most definitely not your fault."

Jimin didn't answer but to roll his head around frustratedly. Youngbae clearly just wasn't understanding.

"Listen," the older continued. "Were you scolded for your actions? Were you kicked out?" He had to clear up the situation with Jimin's owners so he could know whether or not it was okay to contact them.

"No," Jimin started hesitantly. "There weren't any humans around. But... Jin-hyung and TaeTae looked at me really scared. I can't go back. Please don't send me back, they'll be so mad."

"Jimin, I think your owners are really worried about you."

"They're not," Jimin practically interrupted Youngbae's sentence with how quick he was to deny it. "They won't want me back. I know the others told them what happened."

Youngbae wanted to sigh in relief. Sure, this was difficult, but he was relieved that Jimin wasn't actually rejected from his new home. Jimin might never recover from his past if his first new home was a bust. All he had to do in this kind of situation was convince Jimin that no one was angry with him.

"Are you hungry or thirsty?" Youngbae asked, trying his hardest not to sound patronizing while also attempting to divert Jimin's attention. While he spoke, he pulled out his cellphone and shot a quick text to his owner demanding that he call one of Jimin's new owners to come here immediately. He could probably talk Jimin down himself, but he knew that it would be much easier with the help of one of the people Jimin was actually doubting. "We've got some snacks if you'd like."

* * *

 

"Christ, yeah, I'm rerouting now."

Jiyong had phoned Yoongi, who had in turn called Hoseok. He knew Hoseok was the one with the car right now, and there's no way Yoongi was leaving Jungkook home alone.

" _Good, I'm going to hang up so you can drive, alright? Be safe. I'll call Namjoon so don't worry about that._ "

"Yeah, thanks," Hoseok said, before Yoongi hung up on him. "It's fine, we're pretty close," he directed towards Taehyung in the passenger's seat.

"Who found him?" the anxious hybrid asked, pulling his feet up underneath him in anticipation.

Hoseok squinted as he made a U-turn and redirected the car towards the address he was given. "I- uh- I'm pretty sure he called that guy from the agency- we told you about him. Either way, they're with him now."

Taehyung nodded and stayed quiet, sensing his owner's stress. He wished he could be of more help, but he was as frightened as the human. Taehyung's worries were easy to soothe, however. He knew Hoseok was not like him in that way.

"Hyung, you know it's going to be fine," he said after quite a while of silence.

Hoseok turned his head towards Taehyung briefly with a tight smile on his lips before facing the road again. "I know, Tae."

"It really is," Taehyung continued with a small smile, knowing that Hoseok was only trying to appear positive for his sake. Most of the time, Taehyung greatly appreciated the way his owner always displayed optimism in order to bring the mood up. It was rare that Taehyung had to be the calm one, but it seemed he had a bit more faith in Jimin's loyalty than Hoseok did. Maybe it is blind optimism, but he'll take any excuse to not feel the way he has for the past few hours. "Jiminnie loves us a lot and he just needs us to tell him that we love him."

Hoseok didn't want to let his guard down, but he couldn't possibly keep it up in front of his best friend. "Tae, I'm so scared for him. I just-" he released a huge breath he'd been holding in. "I can't help but think that we bit off more than we can chew. Of course I want him to be happy, but what if  _we_ aren't succeeding at making him happy?"

Taehyung felt his smile slip. "Hyung, you know they said there would be ups and downs..."

"It just seems like there are too many downs. I feel like we're failing him."

The hybrid's ears drooped as he heard his owner's true worries. He wondered how long he'd been thinking this way--he hoped it was only since this incident. "What about Christmas?" he offered. "That was a lot of fun, wasn't it? Isn't that considered an 'up'?"

"Yeah," the human sighed. "I know I'm being silly. I'm sorry, TaeTae. It'll be fine, I'm sure."

Taehyung scrunched his face up in thought as he nodded slowly. Suddenly, he grin came back in full force as he reached over and ruffled Hoseok's hair roughly.

"Yah!" he shouted through a laugh as he swatted at Taehyung's arm. "Are you really trying to pet me?" 

"It always makes me happy, I thought it might work for you too!" Taehyung argued playfully. "Let's just go tell Jiminnie that we want him to come home, okay? He's probably just a little shocked, that's all." He pointed at the big sign in front of the school they were headed to to make sure Hoseok didn't miss the turn.

"I see, thanks," Hoseok acknowledged, feeling notably lighter than a moment ago. They saw Jiyong waving them over, and Hoseok parked the car as close to the other human as he could get before hopping out.

They couldn't have been less than 10 meters away, but Hoseok clearly recognized Jimin's slouched form hugging a blanket around himself as he sat cross-legged on the lowest platform sharing a bottle of water with another hybrid.

Jimin had looked up as soon as he saw headlights approaching, and tried to hide behind Youngbae a bit until he noticed who exited the car.

"No, no, please don't," he begged to whomever would listen, about to try and stand up and run away until he caught Youngbae's stern gaze. 

Hoseok might have let Jimin's visceral reaction had Taehyung not just reassured him that Jimin was likely just frightened and feeling unwelcome to come home. He jogged over quickly so the hybrid wouldn't be able to make a decision fast enough anyway before he got there.

Taehyung lagged at a bit of a distance and watched as Hoseok didn't hesitate to drop to his knees on the snowy woodchips in front of the play set and wrap Jimin up in a tight embrace. He couldn't help but notice that Jimin looked uncomfortable in the hug, but Taehyung guessed it wasn't genuine discomfort but rather sheer confusion with the situation. Soon enough, the hybrid relaxed in the human's hold and nuzzled into his neck in a sign of vulnerability and a need for comfort. Taehyung saw Jimin's ears twitch even under his winter hat.

He walked forward a bit more and heard quiet whispers being exhanged between them. 

There were several apologies from both parties followed by a slightly louder exclamation of "Jimin, please come home," coming from Hoseok. 

Taehyung awkwardly made eye contact with the stranger-hybrid and offered a small half-smile. The other nodded in response and scooted away from the hugging pair. Taehyung slowly crept closer until he was sitting in his place, right next to Jimin.

"Psst..." he called softly to get Jimin and Hoseok's attention. The human didn't budge, but Jimin lifted his head slightly and turned it towards Taehyung as much as he could in Hoseok's tight hold. Taehyung smiled widely at him. "Hi."

Jimin giggled softly at the strange interjection, causing Hoseok to release him a bit to see his cute smile (no matter how small). Jimin dropped his gaze sadly. "D-Do you think you can forgive me?" he asked in a small voice. It was hard for Jimin to face them so soon, but he was glad it was someone as kind and forgiving as Hoseok has been to him.

"Of course," Hoseok was quick to reply. "There's nothing to forgive- everyone is so grateful. You saved Jungkookie's life, you know."

As soon as Jimin started stuttering out denials, Taehyung scooted even closer. "You really did," he insisted. "We were all really worried about you when you ran away. Sorry if I scared you by chasing you, I just wanted to tell you that everything was okay."

Hoseok began rubbing his hands up and down Jimin's arms to warm him up. He couldn't imagine how cold he must have been. "We really want you to come home," he added.


	21. Reassured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a longer one for you guys~

"I don't want you to be angry with me." Jimin's nearly unintelligible response came in the form of a low murmur.

Hoseok tilted his head to the side, his brain taking a moment to process what was said at such a low volume. "No one is angry. You didn't do anything wrong. You can come home." He reached forward subconsciously to tuck a small tuft of Jimin's hair up into his warm beanie. Jimin blushed lightly at the action even through his body's shivers. There was an  _audience_  here watching him act like a pile of goo from nothing but Hoseok's sweet words and actions.

"You're still our good boy." Jimin's eyes widened tremendously at the words, and the ringing in his ears blocked out the low gasp he let slip. Hoseok watched the reaction and was encouraged to continue. "You can't leave us now, not when we've gotten attached to you. I was hoping you'd be a good influence on TaeTae- you're so obedient and kind and polite. You're so _good_ Jimin- we couldn't imagine living without you."

(Taehyung knew not to get offended that Hoseok was playing favorites here and practically putting him down in the process. Hoseok would definitely give him belly rubs later to make up for it.)

Jimin nodded slowly when Hoseok was nearing the end of his declaration. "I want to come home," he whispered quietly, hands reaching out to grab at Hoseok's sleeves decisively.

Taehyung grinned widely even though neither Jimin nor Hoseok were looking at him at the moment. He glanced up at the hybrid he didn't know to see him and his human watching from a respectible distance with an odd look of pride in their eyes. Taehyung tore his eyes away to focus on the other two just in time to see Jimin pulling in Hoseok, who met him in the middle with open arms.

"Come on," the human encouraged. "Let's get you out of the cold. We can go home now." He pulled Jimin up so he could stand, and the hybrid struggled a little on his feet with his now throbbing ankle. "Do you want me to carry you to the car?" Hoseok asked sympathetically after noticing his discomfort.

Jimin only shook his head, though. Youngbae had seen him be vulnerable enough tonight, he didn't need to show him any more weakness.

"Okay, come on Tae. Let's go." Hoseok directed his hybrid to walk Jimin to the car before turning towards Jiyong. He could only mouth the words 'thank you' with the incredible rush of emotion bubbling out of him. He knew he'd gotten attached to Jimin but since they'd adopted him, he hadn't allowed himself even once to consider life without him until tonight. 

"Don't mention it," Jiyong said, shooing him towards his car while Youngbae picked up their emergency duffel bag. "Just give us a call later in the week and we'll come check up on him. He can keep the blanket until then. Go on now." Hoseok bowed gratefully before jogging to catch up to his two hybrids. Jimin was obviously trying not to limp and Hoseok wished he could be open and honest about his pain, but he figured they made enough progress tonight.

Hoseok was helping Jimin into the backseat of the car with Taehyung sitting across from him when the frightened hybrid locked eyes with him again. "Will you punish me when we get there?" he asked without hesitation- only underlying fear. 

"Of course not," he assured. Even if they wanted to discipline him, his night alone and afraid outside in the dead of winter was punishment enough. Hoseok pulled the blanket from Jimin's shoulders and tried to ignore the look from the hybrid as he buckled him into the car and then laid the blanket back over his front. The human pressed a soft kiss to Jimin's cheek and closed the car door before hopping into the front of the vehicle. While he started the car, turned on the heat, and phoned Namjoon, Jimin drew his baffled gaze away from the back of Hoseok's seat over to Taehyung sitting next to him. Taehyung had just finished buckling his own seatbelt and then glanced up to see Jimin looking right at him. He smiled softly seeing the other bundled up in his own seat.

Jimin was silent for the rest of the drive. He avoided Namjoon's eyes and questions when they picked the human up from where he was out looking for Jimin (unbeknownst to the hybrid himself). Jimin held himself together quite well until they were back in the parking deck of their apartment complex. 

The hybrid waited quite childishly for Hoseok to come unbuckle him from his seat. He knew it was silly and he was fully capable of getting out of the car himself but he loved the attention Hoseok gave him--not that he'd ever say that out loud. The human did come for him, leaving the blanket in the backseat of their car when Jimin quietly requested "carry me?"

Hoseok allowed Jimin to climb onto his back and cling to him the entire walk back without a single complaint--even when Jimin stuck the freezing tip of his nose into the warm skin of Hoseok's neck. The moment they entered after Namjoon and Taehyung, Jimin heard Jin shout his name in relief.

(He sounded like a woman in a drama that Jimin remembered watching with Taehyung once who found her love again after being seperated for quite some time, but Jimin didn't think that was appropriate--or even necessary- to bring up.)

Hoseok lowered Jimin down from his back, but before Jin could even reach him, he found himself being pulled into a hug from none other than Jungkook. Jimin was shocked and didn't know where to put his hands, but the affection was not at all unwelcome. Jungkook seemed to realize Jimin's slight discomfort, because he pulled away immediately and averted his gaze as he blushed heavily. 

"I- uh... I just... I wanted to thank you, hyung." Jungkook stuttered to Jimin's surprise. He thought that might be the first time since he was in the hospital that Jungkook has called him hyung and it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He was glad to see that the young cat hybrid was okay, but the exclamation of gratitude was unecessary in Jimin's eyes. The odd behaviour from the other was also stirring something inside of Jimin.

He glanced around the room, finding Yoongi slowly approaching to stand behind Jungkook, and Jin also moved closer while Hoseok, Namjoon, and Taehyung remained by the door. He felt a bit overwelmed at all the attention, and while he appreciated the concern in small doses, he felt tiny under everyone's eyes. He caused so much disturbance to them all tonight. Whether or not they planned on punishing him for his initial actions, the tear tracks under Jungkook's eyes and the bags under Yoongi's were enough of an indication that he'd caused a great deal of disorder in their lives.

Jimin's face fell as he tugged the beanie off of his head and wrung it in his gloved hands self-consciously. He tucked his tail between his legs and pressed his ears down flat; tears were building up in his eyes (though Taehyung almost didn't notice them with how focused he was on the messy fluff of hat-hair sitting atop the other's head), and he was hardly able to stammer out an "I'm sorry" with the way his throat was already closing up. Jimin  _hated_ crying in front of other people, and the fact that he couldn't hold back right now was frustrating him even more.

The hybrid sniffed harshly, anxiously bringing his arms up to hide his reddening, tearful face behind the hat in his hands. He heard someone tut compassionately before he felt himself being pulled gently into their strong arms. He didn't let out a single sob until his face was buried far into that person's chest to muffle the pathetic noise. He couldn't help but feel so remorseful for his actions and the way they affected the people he had come to love. Despite having his face pressed up against this other person, the gasping breaths in between sobs didn't allow him enough time to smell who was holding him.

Jimin couldn't remember a time in his life when he felt more ashamed--not even when he was being put down mercilessly by his master, chained up in a dark, moldy basement, or muzzled and thrown into a cage in clothing that was nothing more than tatters and expected to defend his master's honour by throwing his own down the drain. Somehow, that couldn't compare to the thought of having caused these people--who have shown him nothing but kindness and forgiveness--to cry. His stomach twisted itself into painful knots at the feeling of deep-seated shame of having brought nothing but problems to their lives. He wasn't deserving of them, but Hoseok still called him a good boy. The consideration he was receiving in return for his stream of disobedience was baffling and Jimin couldn't understand it. He's felt guilt and discomfort in this house before for the exact same reason, but it seemed to have caught up to him entirely in this moment as a culmination of the past few weeks' events. His other 'bad behaviours' didn't measure up to this last mistake.

Still, there were arms holding him tightly, one hand threading fingers through his unruly, knotted hair and the other placed firmly between his shoulderblades. Jimin lowered the beanie from his face so he could feel the other more closely; he felt less overwhelmed when he pretended it was just the two of them in the room. At this point, Jimin knew he was wetting their shirt with his ceaseless tears, but instead of complaining, the person simply hummed and removed the hand from his back to help him take off the gloves Jimin still had on. The other tossed them to the floor with the hat carelessly, and Jimin forgot about them in an instant when he normally would have picked them up and put them away.

The hybrid was still sniffling harshly, rubbing his head side-to-side against the other's shoulder to rub his irritated eyes. Whoever was holding him let out a small noise of sympathy when Jimin closed his eyes tightly and whimpered (it was the same whimper Taehyung made when begging for extra dessert, but it sounded so different in this context). In a moment, there was another hand on the small of his back, prompting Jimin to pull his head away to see what was happening. Through watery eyes, he saw Jin at his side holding a tissue up to him in offering. Jimin grabbed the tissue and then tilted his head up to see who was holding him. Upon seeing Namjoon's concerned gaze, Jimin-- _mortified_ \--lowered his head again and blew his nose into the tissue. Jin pulled another from his pocket and dabbed gently-  _so gently_ \- at the slowly drying tracks on the sides of his face. 

Jimin rested the side of his forehead against Namjoon's shoulder while he watched Jin's concentrating face. "I'm really sorry," the young hybrid mumbled again, the words coming out jumbled and strained, causing him to clear his throat immediately afterwards.

Jin shushed him softly but didn't say anything other than that to address his apology. Instead, he pushed Jimin's hair off of his forehead, making his eyes close and the comforting touch. "Let's take a bath. We'll get all warm and cleaned up and then go to sleep. I'm sure you're so tired." Jin's tone of voice was soothing and convincing, and Jimin found himself nodding his head even though his current embarrassment made him want to stand his ground and not move a single muscle for the rest of his life.

The eldest hybrid cooed at his cuteness and pulled him away from Namjoon's arms, who reluctantly let go. Jimin missed the warmth of those hands, but his whole face felt overheated after crying in such a way despite how cold he was just before. Jimin glanced around as he limped after Jin to see the front hall cleared of people, not a single soul other than Namjoon, Jin, and himself in sight. He was grateful for the privacy his housemates granted, or he might have died on the spot from humiliation.

The short walk to the bathroom was spent trying to control his breathing to a more natural pace, though he still hiccupped every so often. He was holding onto Jin's hand with the used tissue in his other, using the back of that hand to rub at his still-itchy eyes. Jimin really hated crying.

Once the bathroom door was closed behind the two, Jimin tried to insist that he was capable of taking a shower himself, but Jin was able to guilt him into a bath because "your poor ankle, Jiminnie. And don't you want hyung to spoil you rotten with his own nice shampoo?" (Jin's shampoo was totally off limits in any other scenario)

Jin made a tutting noise as he took the tissue from Jimin and threw it away before he began filling up the bathtub while Jimin took off his layers of soggy clothes. All the snow that was stuck to them had melted into wet patches that made him shiver and feel uncomfortable. He had to sit on the floor to take off his shoes, being gentle with his left foot so he didn't jostle his ankle around too much.

"Namjoon can take a look at that before you go to bed," Jin commented offhandedly, trying his best to not stare at Jimin as he undressed. He was honestly just very curious about how the marks all over his body had healed during his time in his new home. "Make sure to keep it out of the hot water, it's not good for it," he continued, rolling his own eyes at how Namjoon must have rubbed off on him.

Jimin hummed in reply before removing the last of his clothes and stepping carefully into the filling tub. Jin helped him to sit in the warm water and it stung at Jimin's chilly skin. He tried not to let it show, knowing that it would feel good in a minute, and instead focused on lifting his leg to place his left foot on the edge of the tub so his ankle wouldn't be submerged. Jin took the time that the bathtub finished filling up to inspect the marred skin on Jimin's back. The bruises there were gone and allowed him to see the nasty pattern of scarring, but there were still a couple large bruises elsewhere on his body even though they were faded to the faintest yellows and greens now, almost completely invisible. His ankle was looking especially swollen, but Namjoon would surely take care of it. Jin sighed softly so as not to alert Jimin to his distressed state; he didn't need that added worry right now. He couldn't keep his tail from flicking nervously behind him- partly in the remaining anger he had for Jimin's previous owners, but mostly just for the anxiety he felt whenever he tried to empathize with the kid.

The older hybrid switched off the tap and began wetting Jimin's hair with the warm water. Once he reached for the shampoo, he passed Jimin the body soap and a rag. Jimin diligently washed himself off while Jin massaged the shampoo into his hair in the most relaxing way possible. It didn't take him too long, but he continued rubbing the younger's scalp long after he'd finished cleaning his body, smiling when the suds came a bit too close to the inside of his tall ears which caused them to twitch. If dogs could purr, Jin's certain that's what Jimin would be doing. His head started out leaning over the edge of the tub so Jin could access it better, but Jin reassured him that he could relax and it wasn't uncomfortable for him to bend his elbows that way (it was totally uncomfortable for him to bend his elbows that way). 

Jimin nearly fell asleep almost entirely submerged in the water (minus his face and injured ankle) while Jin rinsed the soap from his hair.

The younger hadn't even noticed Namjoon slip inside silently to deposit a bundle of clothes on the sink counter. Jin thanked him with a wordless smile, and Jimin remained oblivious to his presence, absorbed in the comfort of Jin's ministrations with his eyes closed. It was an incredible sign of trust that nearly made Jin choke up; here was a hybrid who was constantly aloof due to the fear of being taken advantage of turning off his senses because he trusted Jin to care for him.

Jimin was dressed in pajama pants covered in a snowflake design, a pair of the new fuzzy socks that Yoongi got him for Christmas, and a t-shirt he'd bought earlier in the night (or is that considered yesterday now?). Jin normally would have blown Jimin's hair and tail dry if he was going to sleep on it wet, but Jimin's eyes were drooping and the older one felt bad, so he settled for rubbing over all of his hair and fur with a towel for a minute.

Namjoon was waiting impatiently outside Jimin's bedroom with two pillows under one arm and holding an ice pack and a wrap for his ankle. He opened the door for the two hybrids to enter and followed them inside, flipping on the light. He watched Jimin push aside the blankets and climb up onto the bed, then he put the extra pillows he brought near the foot of the bed on Jimin's preferred side.

"I want you to keep your foot elevated tonight, okay?"

Jimin glanced anywhere but at Namjoon as he tried to figure out what the word 'elevated' meant, but the human just kept speaking.

"This is an ice pack. It'll stop being cold in about 20 minutes--which is perfect--so if you're still awake by the time it goes warm and it bothers you, you're free to take it off, but only once it's not cold anymore. I guess I'll just wrap it in the morning," he mentioned, putting the bandage on the bedside table. "You're going to have to use crutches again, unfortunately. Resting that ankle is key right now, alright?'

While he spoke, Jin took the phone out of the pocket of Jimin's jeans before dumping all of his clothes in the basket that held his dirty laundry, and then plugged the device in next to Jimin's bed. He noticed Jimin's scrunching eyebrows while Namjoon was trying to explain.

Jin rolled his eyes at his efficient owner before encouraging Jimin to lay down. "Put your foot up here," he instructed softly, patting the two pillows the human had set up. Jimin obeyed slowly and Jin grabbed the ice pack from Namjoon. "I'm going to put this on your ankle. It'll be cold, but that means it's doing its job, okay?" When Jimin nodded, Jin placed it right where the swelling was the worst, but the younger didn't even wince even though Jin was sure it must have been uncomfortable and a little painful. "Would you like anything before you go to bed? Food? Water? ... Company?"

"I'm okay, hyung," Jimin ensured in a small voice that was anything but convincing. However, the look in Jimin's eyes was what convinced Jin to leave him be for now. He simply nodded and pulled over the softest blanket on the bed to cover Jimin's body. Namjoon was already making his way out of the room while Jin tucked the blanket in around the younger and handed him his teddy bear from the other side of the bed like a father would do. "If... If you change your mind about... _anything_ , please don't hesitate to call for me. Try not to come find me, because you need to rest your ankle, but if you yell my name, or even call me on the phone, I'll come right away, got it?" Jimin nodded with a blush and Jin sighed and straightened his back to stand tall. "Alright. I'll check on you in the morning. Good night."

On his way out of the room, he could have sworn he heard a whispered "night" in response just after Jin turned the light off. Once the door was closed behind him, Jin walked out towards the kitchen where he saw the light still on. The apartment seemed empty, which meant that the other four had probably retired to bed for the night seeing as it was nearing 4:00 in the morning.

"Namjoon?" he called softly.

"Here," came the reply from the kitchen, and Jin pressed forward around the corner to meet his owner.

Jin smiled softly at him. "Hi," he said awkwardly. "Can I- um..." He raised one arm awkwardly, but Namjoon seemed to understand the request just fine, placing down his glass of water to embrace his hybrid. Jin's tail came to life from where it had just been laying limp to press against the human's leg, and he began purring almost inaudibly.

"You did really good tonight, kitty," Namjoon ensured, and normally Jin would groan at the name or smack Namjoon upside the head, but he was just drained and  _sad, dammit_. It made him feel special at the moment, like he had no responsibilities; he wasn't about to fight that.

"Thank you," was his quiet response. 

Namjoon released him slowly and held him by the elbows at less than an arm's length away. "Really. I'm so proud of the way you handled things. I couldn't have done it better myself." Jin snorted, but Namjoon was quick to reassure. "I'm serious- you know I would have panicked. You did  _so well_."

"I really appreciate that."

The human smiled softly. "Why don't we go to bed, and I'll pet you until you fall asleep. You deserve it, kitty."

Jin followed contentedly, making sure to place his phone on the bedside table with the volume up high before laying down. Even with his owner's strong fingers sifting through his silky hair, scratching behind his ears every once in a while, Jin found it hard to wind down.

He'd seen a different side to Jimin tonight. In the past, he'd had a difficult time trying to envision Jimin the Fighter when all he knew was Jimin the Cuddler. He'd been so used to Jimin seeming constantly afraid or unsure, seeing his shoulders hunched, hearing him stutter when he's uncertain. He was small. The Jimin he saw tonight was big- confident and unafraid, stood tall and took no shit, but he was a killer. He had enough restraint to leave Jungkook's attacker alive, but seeing that Jimin was capable of something like that was so much different than hearing about it in the vaguest details. He was beginning to think that Jimin's personality was exactly as he'd seen the past couple weeks, but seeing his polar opposite made Jin realize that the  _real_ Jimin hadn't even made an appearance yet. There had to be something in between the two.

Meanwhile, Jimin laid awake at the end of the hall as well. He was flat on his back, picking at his teddy bear's fur while waiting for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light just so he could focus on finding the little imperfections in the paint on the ceiling. He did that sometimes at night when he couldn't sleep and it usually became so boring that it ended up helping him, but Jimin's mind was moving way too fast for it to adequately distract him. No matter how tired and worn out his body was, his brain wasn't allowing him to sleep.

He had to have been there for at least 20 minutes, because the ice pack that had thankfully dulled the throbbing of his ankle had gone warm. Instead of removing it, Jimin just kicked it off frustratedly, not in the mood to go reaching under the blanket to find it.

He wanted to roll around on the bed- find some comfortable position- but he had to keep his stupid foot on the stupid pillows. It was his own fault, so he shouldn't really get angry about it... but he was anyway.

Everything was frustrating him even though he was so _grateful_ and  _relieved_  to have been invited back home with loving arms. It's all he wanted, and yet he was still angry with himself. For fighting, for running away, for hurting his ankle again, for giving in so easily and calling Jiyong, for making Jungkook sad and everyone else tired and possibly angry, for crying in front of the others, for allowing Jin to go through the trouble of bathing him when he was perfectly able to do it himself, for not understanding all of Namjoon's words, for keeping everyone up into the middle of the night because of his stupid,  _stupid_ meltdown, for misunderstanding _everything_ , and for causing this whole entire mess.

He was almost too caught up in his mind to hear movement in the house, but not quite. The floorboards creaking made Jimin's heart jump up into his throat, especially when footsteps became clearer as they approached the end of the hallway where Jimin's room was.

He was afraid- maybe one of them was actually angry at him and came to punish him separately. People coming to him in the middle of the night never yeilded a positive outcome, so when someone knocked on the door, Jimin could hardly squeak out a "yes?"

The door creaked open a bit, and it must have been a hybrid who was out there, because no one without a heightened sense of hearing would have caught that sound.

"Hyung?" someone whispered, and Jimin immediately identified it as Jungkook from that one spoken word. "Hyung, you're awake, right?"

"Yes," Jimin mumbled. Jungkook can't hurt him- physically at least. It would certainly hurt him on the inside if Jungkook told him that he was disappointed in Jimin and never wanted to speak to him again, but it didn't seem like that would happen now seeing as Jimin was currently picking up lots of uncertainty from the other.

"I was... uh- wondering... if maybe I could sleep with you tonight?" Jungkook left the question hanging, and Jimin must have taken a second too long to reply in his shock at the inquiry, because Jungkook was backtracking in moments. "It's okay if you don't want to, you know. I- I get it, that things are different for you, right? I'm just... I- um... feel kind of..."  _vulnerable_  "small? Um, that was bad.. I mean, not right.. I meant to say that I'm just..."  _terrified_  "a little scared." _Please protect me_ "I thought maybe I'd... feel better... in here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **~~Jimin has a praise kink~~ **


	22. Exposure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, this is not edited -AT ALL- so don't judge too hard!! XD

"I thought maybe I'd... feel better... in here."

Jimin blinked, watching the younger hybrid cautiously. He felt a strong tug on his heart seeing Jungkook so vulnerable but still trying to appear strong. Jimin couldn't help but relate on some level. Did he look like that whenever he discreetly angled his head towards one of the humans in hopes that they'd start petting him without him even having to ask?

He couldn't refuse.

Jimin wordlessly reached over and pulled the blanket down on the open side of the bed as an invitation that the younger took gratefully. He heard Jungkook sigh softly as he slid his socked feet across the wood floor to reach Jimin's bed before tentatively climbing in.

"Thank you, hyung. I really appreciate it."

Jimin's eyes were used to the darkness in the room since he'd been laying in there for so long, so he could clearly see the dark blush covering Jungkook's face and neck. He knew that Taehyung liked to tease Jungkook a lot about these rare moments where he'd express his emotions without his usual facade (something about "cracking that bad-boy exterior" - Taehyung's words), but Jimin wouldn't dare capitalize on a moment like this. This isn't like those times that the youngest hybrid gets too invested in a drama they're all watching and doesn't realize his facial expressions are reflecting his worry for the main character.

Jimin understands what it's like to feel helpless and ashamed of your own feelings. However, he's never been the person that people turn to for help or comfort.

"It's okay," Jimin insisted. He may not be the best at consoling people, but he knew he'd like the same consideration--to be reassured that he wasn't causing anyone any trouble. He turned his head to the side on his fluffy pillow to watch as Jungkook got situated in the bed beside him. This felt weird to Jimin--this is his first time with a room to himself. Clearly, he had slept around other people before, but never in this context. Sometimes he and the other hybrids his masters owned would have to share the same floor space at night, but it was an unspoken rule that there was no speaking and no coming in physical contact with one another. He's spent many nights laying as straight as a board even in his sleep with others mere centimeters away from him doing exactly the same.

This time, it was silent for maybe only 30 seconds before Jungkook had turned on his side to face Jimin, slipping his hand across the sheets to brush his fingers against Jimin's arm with a whispered "Is this okay?"

Jimin nodded; he was sure Jungkook heard the sound of movement against his pillow (and he was pretty sure Jin mentioned to him once that feline hybrids aren't quite as hindered by the dark as humans or other breeds). He didn't dare budge because it must have taken a colossal amount of courage for Jungkook to have made that gesture, so he laid still--though not quite uncomfortable--with Jungkook's hand resting on the bed beside him so that his knuckles were pressed lightly to the jut of Jimin's shoulder. 

* * *

 

He doesn't remember falling asleep, but he must have because he woke up to the sound of a loud snore. Jimin only panicked for a split second before remembering he wasn't alone. He glanced over to see Jungkook sleeping soundly on his back. The younger had shifted around a bit in his sleep, as he was now hugging his own hands close to his body.

Jimin laid there for a while with nothing but an empty mind to entertain him. He took it as a moment to take inventory of himself. His mouth felt dry and hot, and his whole body ached. He was sweating under the thick blankets, but moving was too uncomfortable. 

He wanted to know the time. He wouldn't be able to read the numbers on his phone, and the meager sunlight filtering in through the thick window curtain couldn't be any kind of indication since it was already early morning by the time he'd come home. Jimin bit his lip and turned his head to the side, mindlessly pressing the home button on his phone in hopes that he'd miraculously gained the ability to decipher the meaning of the characters overnight.

The feeling of the heaviness in his limbs and the stuffiness in his chest wasn't at all new to the hybrid, but it wasn't pleasant either way. It was difficult to tell if he'd slept for 12 hours or 12 minutes. Sniffling, Jimin pushed himself up on his elbows, squinting at the head rush that came with the action. He suddenly regretted not accepting Jin's offer for some water before he went to sleep... 

Thinking of his hyung, Jimin thought to get up and go find him until he remembered his ankle. Namjoon wouldn't be pleased with him if he walked around like this, would he? As soon as Jimin thought of the human, his cheeks flushed heavily in embarrassment as he recalled the events from the previous night. Part of Jimin wanted to forget that it had ever happened--the whole _running away and then crying all over the human_  thing--but an even bigger part of him was still craving the comfort he was provided last night. 

He knew he shouldn't be embarrassed about asking for help; he'd seen the others do it all the time. He still didn't know how to properly handle his emotions, and he did want to learn how to read eventually. Despite their efforts towards inclusion, part of him still felt a little left out of the group, especially since he hadn't been here nearly as long as the others. 

Jimin couldn't stand these mixed feelings; one moment, he felt overwhelmed with love in the way that everyone wanted him to come back home, and the very next, he was feeling lonelier than he ever had. He had no idea what was causing these feelings, but it was very stressful for the young hybrid who never learned how to _feel_ things the way others do.

A soft snore jolted Jimin out of his headspace, and he looked over at Jungkook still sleeping deeply on the other side of the bed. Jimin knew that it was rude to wake someone else up, but maybe...

"J-Jungkook..." he called softly, reaching out to poke the younger's shoulder a couple times. He wasn't entirely sure  _why_ he wanted the other awake, but it was probably just because he was tired of laying here silently without being able to stand up. Jimin whined softly in the back of his throat when Jungkook didn't budge.

"Please..." he whispered. Jimin felt sad, lonely, sick, and bored, and he didn't want to stay laying here in bed silently until someone came to check on him.

When Jungkook began stirring in his sleep, Jimin felt a bit guilty about waking him up, but he'd rather the other be angry with him than have to sit there another hour drowning in his thoughts. Jimin kept prodding at Jungkook's arm and torso until his eyes opened and stared over at the older.

"Morning..." the cat hybrid mumbled, barely moving his lips before opening his mouth into a huge yawn. The older watched silently as Jungkook shook his head a bit to wake himself up, ears flicking randomly. Jimin almost wanted to smile at how normal everything seemed despite his ovious unfamiliarity with the situation; he liked not waking up alone. "Um, sorry about... last night," Jungkook stammered in a quiet tone.

"I'm hungry," Jimin blurted with a hoarse voice; he didn't want the younger to feel uncomfortable about anything that had happened, or start to regret coming to see him last night.

Jungkook looked a little surprised about the declaration. "Oh, okay." He sat up slowly. "I'll go see... if anyone else is awake, I guess." He began to remove the blankets and scoot towards the end of the bed when Jimin spoke up again.

"What time is it?" he asked quietly.

The younger patted down his body, looking down and then towards the bedside table. "Sorry, I don't have my phone on me."

Jimin obediently handed Jungkook his own. The younger gave him an odd look, but then turned his attention towards the glowing screen. "It's... almost 14:30. Wow. Okay. I'm going to see if someone made lunch. I'll be... right back." Jungkook tossed Jimin's phone back onto the bed and stood up.

Jimin watched him go quietly. He tried to sit up a little, but his head started spinning and it felt like something was squeezing his brain, so he obediently laid back down against the pillow with a pout. Picking boredly at the edges of the top blanket draped over his body, he waited for someone to come get him. Jimin definitely didn't like this lack of independence.

Only a few moments later, there was a light knock at his door that was left slightly ajar before Jin was poking his head through. "Hello Jiminie," he called in a soothing tone. "Jungkook tells me you're feeling hungry?"

Jimin nodded, fixing his blank stare towards the older cat hybrid. His ears flicked against the pillow in distaste at the icky feelings inside of him. "Hyung, I don't feel very good," Jimin complained quietly.

The elder cooed as he stepped into the room and crossed over to Jimin's side of the bed. Placing the back of his hand against Jimin's forehead, Jin's ears flattened against his head as his expression faltered. "Poor baby, I think you've got a fever. I'll go get some medicine. Would you like me to bring some food too?"

Jimin huffed softly and looked up at Jin almost pathetically. "I don't- I don't want to be in here."

Jin cocked his head to the side. "Would you... like to go to the living room? Tae and I were playing Mario Kart, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind turning the volume down."

The younger hummed and reached out towards Jin, who giggled at the cute neediness being displayed. "I'm a weakling, you should know that. Let me go get Hobi, I bet he'd be happy to carry you."

Jimin watched as he was left alone in his quiet bedroom for the second time that day, whining quietly and waiting quite impatiently this time. It was frustrating, but what could he do? He decided to push the blankets off of himself to be ready when a strong chill ran down his spine, so he pulled the fluffiest one from the stack to wrap around his body.

While he was situating himself properly is the blanket, he heard a cheerful "Good morning, sleepy head!" from the door. Jimin stopped squirming and stayed still for Hoseok to lift him up with an arm under his knees and another around his back. "Where to?" the human asked.

"Couch" Jimin mumbled, holding the edges of the blanket together up near his mouth and muffling his voice.

"I heard you aren't feeling too great," Hoseok said as he walked out of the bedroom with the lump of a hybrid lifted in his arms. "Would you like me to make you some special porridge?"

Jimin's stomach growled halfway through Hoseok's question, causing him to blush furiously and hide his face further into the blanket with his hands.

"Sounds like a plan," concluded the human, settling him down on the plush sofa. Jimin wiggled once he was laid down to reposition himself as comfortably as possible while Hoseok grabbed a pillow for to elevate his ankle. The hybrid found it difficult to find a comfortable position with the way his neck and back ached. The bodily pain and general sick feeling reminded him too much of his time in the hospital after he was found, and he continued to pout at the nagative emotions that thought brought up.

Once he finally stilled, he noticed Taehyung sitting on the floor in front of the television customizing his character on the video game he loved so much. Usually, Jimin liked all the bright colours of it, but it was just making his head hurt right now. Right when he closed his eyes, Jin was coming back up to him with a glass of water and a straw. 

"Take this," he instructed, passing a pill on to the younger, who had to regretfully remove one hand from his blanket cocoon to pop it in his mouth. "And drink this to wash it down." After dutifully taking the medicine, Jimin wrapped himself up once more and huffed out a sigh. "Aww," Jin cooed, kneeling down beside the sofa to run his fingers gently through Jimin's hair. "I know it doesn't feel good."

Neither had noticed Taehyung disappear from the room, but soon, he was back with a yellow duck plushie in his hands. "Here," he said playfully, holding it out to Jimin. 

"Tae," Jin called softly. "I don't know if he'd like a toy that squeaks right now." When Jimin's face scrunched up in discomfort at the though of loud squeaking noises, Taehyung nodded his head in thought before leaving the room and coming back with a different toy. "This one doesn't make any noises," he said, handing the childish-looking giraffe with pastel colours to the sick hybrid, who accepted the offer gratefully with a murmur of thanks.

Jimin hugged the toy to his chest, honestly appreciative for the gesture, but having a hard time displaying any emotion but melancholy at the moment. It seemed Taehyung wasn't fazed as his large grin was still present on his face. At that moment, Jungkook entered the living room with a bowl of cereal and placed himself at the very end of the sofa in the small space left between Jimin's feet and the armrest. The youngest glanced over at Jimin shyly, smiling softly seeing him comfortably wrapped up in a blanket with one of Taehyung's toys in his arms. 

"Hoseok-hyung and Namjoon-hyung are making you porridge," Jungkook updated Jimin before diving into his bowl of cereal with a blush on his cheeks. 

Taehyung had gone back to playing his game while Jin picked up a controller as well, sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the couch. Jimin focused on watching the two of them race on the screen. At some point, Yoongi had left his room sleepily to lean over the back of the couch behind Jungkook, speaking quietly to him in a pitch that Jimin didn't bother trying to overhear. The human sat himself on the armrest closest to his hybrid, petting him absentmindedly as the two of them also focused in on the television screen.

After several races (the reactions from everyone in the room led Jimin to believe that Taehyung was winning), Hoseok entered the room with a bowl of steaming hot porridge and a spoon. Jimin felt a little dizzy, but he pushed himself up a bit so he could accept the bowl, placing the giraffe gently on the cushion beside him.

"Thank you, hyung," he said in a raspy voice, prompting him to clear his throat. Hoseok kissed him on the forehead before moving off to the plush chair at the side of the room. The sound of running water in the kitchen clued Jimin in to the fact that Namjoon must be in there washing the dishes. 

Normally, Jimin might not appreciate the bustle of the apartment, but he found it a nice distraction right now. He couldn't find it in himself to get bored or caught up in negative thoughts when so much was going on that he could watch instead.

Jimin tried to eat slowly, but he was so hungry that it was hard to pace himself. After only a few minutes, the water in the kitchen shut off and the game Taehyung and Jin were playing was between races, and Jimin was allowed a moment to feel guilty about his needless hunger. He'd eaten a large dinner the night before and it hadn't even been a full day since then, so there was no need for him to feel so ravenous now. Jimin sighed as he nibbled the last few bites of porridge, unaware of a certain human's eyes on him.

"Kid, you alright?" 

Jimin's head almost snapped up to look at Yoongi who was still perched on the opposite end of the couch, but he remembered his headache at the last second and instead allowed his eyes to rise steadily to meet the other's.

"Yes sir," Jimin responded absentmindedly, going back to his bowl. There was an air of tension in the room that Jimin didn't seem to notice after his words were spoken, as he was looking back down into his bowl and playing with his spoon; he didn't see the look Jin gave to Hoseok nor the disappointed expression on Yoongi's face.

"Tae, Jungkook, why don't you go help Namjoon dry and put away the dishes," Yoongi spoke quietly, and Jimin felt his ears droop, fearing that this had something to do with him. 

 _Why did he have to clear the room?_  Jimin asked himself anxiously.

Jin turned around from where he was sitting with his back against the sofa so he could look at Jimin. The eldest had his hands folded up under his chin as he looked up at the other hybrid. The younger two silently made their way to the kitchen without protest, and soon Namjoon was joining the silent group in the living room, standing behind his own hybrid (but still _too close_ ). Jimin's heart was about to beat right out of his chest out of nerves. 

_Why won't anyone say anything?_

It wasn't until Jimin wimpered and hugged the giraffe plush to his chest that Yoongi thought it appropriate to speak again.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" He had asked it somewhat teasingly, which held Jimin's fears at bay for the moment.

"I don't know," Jimin mumbled. He wanted to work things out, but he wasn't sure he could find the words. He wanted reassurance from everyone, but he didn't want to talk to everyone all at once- or maybe at all. Things were just a bit too complicated.

Jimin had yet to look up from his bowl where he was lying on his side across the sofa, and the younger's pouty face was beginning to really sqeeze at Jin's heart. "Jiminie," the hybrid called softly in a sing-song tone. "Do you want to go hang out in hyung's room?" Jin was thinking that maybe Jimin felt uncomfortable with this much attention on him.

Jimin dropped the spoon into the bowl with a little clatter. "Cuddles?" he whispered hopefully.

"Sure," Jin cheered happily before turning back to his owner. "Namjoonie-" he started, but the human was already moving to lift the younger from the sofa. Jin shot Hoseok and Yoongi apologetic glances before escaping into the bedroom he shared with Namjoon. The human was placing the young hybrid in a sitting position in the middle of their large bed when Jimin reached out to Jin with the hand that wasn't holding the giraffe. The eldest smiled at the way that Jimin was beginning to be more open with his desire for physical comfort, and climbed onto the bed himself. He almost giggled at the fluffy mop of hair on Jimin's head from falling asleep with it still wet.

"Namjoon, get the brush, please," he spoke as he crawled over the unmade covers to sit by Jimin, who was working on wrapping himself back up in his blanket. The older hybrid positioned himself slightly behind the younger, running his fingers lightly through the tangled knots in his hair and avoiding his twitching ears as they waited for the brush.

The human had just reentered the room when Jin spoke next. "Jiminie, would you like to talk about anything?"

Jimin just grumbled unintelligible noises as he slouched further into himself. The medicine seemed to be working as his head wasn't feeling nearly as much pressure and his muscles had relaxed somewhat.

"No no, none of that," Jin chided, before gently tilting Jimin's head back up and then grabbing the brush from his owner and requesting that he leave with a nod towards the door. The human stopped however when Jimin fixed him with a desperate stare.

"It's just hard," the young hybrid whined, wringing his tail between his hands beneath the fluffy blanket and staring straight at Namjoon. Jin had frozen momentarily, but quickly gained his bearings and began running the hairbrush through Jimin's hair in a calming, repetitive motion.

Namjoon stuttered over the same syllable for a moment before he sat himself on the bottom corner of the bed--a good distance from the other two. "H-How do you mean?"

Jimin leaned into Jin's massaging hands. "Just... keeping up." He knew this wasn't a competition or a race, but he wished he could learn things faster to be on the same level with everyone else. When all he got in response was confused glances, he sighed heavily. "I- I thought it was really cool with Miss Suzy taught me how to take a shower all by myself and I thought you would be impressed with me. And then I got here and I realized that I'm actually just... stupid. I don't know things but I want to-" he cut himself off when he noticed that he was rambling without making much sense at all, getting discouraged at the fact that his words rang true. "I just want to read like everyone else and not do crazy things like I did yesterday. I tried really hard and I still messed up."

"Jimin..." Jin trailed off. 

When the other two remained speechless after that, Jimin's ears flattened, making it difficult for Jin to maneuver around his head with the hairbrush. 

"I just want to think like everyone and be smart like you. I keep feeling bad things and I don't know how to fix it."

"Bad... bad things?" Namjoon stammered, beyond concerned at the moment.

"Yes," Jimin nodded, but didn't elaborate.

"Oh," the human said, unable to find his words for once. He scooted a bit closer to the pair on the bed and turned his body to face them fully. "Well... would you maybe like to talk about it? Sometimes, saying things out loud helps, remember? And maybe Jin and I can help with it."

"I want to learn how to read please," he blurted out in one quick breath. Jimin pouted, nudging into Jin's hands to prompt him to continue. The elder obeyed, smiling proudly at Jimin admitting his self-perceived 'shortcomings' and asking for help. He turned his attention towards his owner, who was trying horribly to conceal a shocked expression. Another unintelligent-sounding "oh" came out of Namjoon's mouth. 

"I can... I can teach you... if you want...? Would that help?"

Jimin nodded. "Yes. And I would like to learn the numbers too so I can see the time."

"You're being such a good boy," Jin reassured the younger in a whisper when he felt him trembling slightly at the effort it took to admit these things. Jimin chanced a glance towards the older hybrid before turning his gaze down to the bed's comforter. "I want to stop having nightmares too, can you teach me that?" At the silence that ensued, Jimin felt the need to clarify. "I really like my teddy bear- he is soft and I like to cuddle him, but I don't think it is working right. Taehyungie said that it would scare away bad dreams but I think something is wrong." As he spoke, he pulled the giraffe plush out of the folds of the blanket wrapped around his body and pet its fur sadly. Jin took the opportunity to nudge Jimin's tail out of the fluffy confines as well so he could groom it properly. 

"Jiminie, I didn't know you had bad dreams," Namjoon spoke. "What can we do to help?"

"Teach me to make them stop?" Jimin begged with large, glimmering eyes.

The other two in the room made eye contact, conveying their mutual heartbrokenness in less than a second before Jin resumed his brushing and Namjoon cleared his throat and averted his gaze to the blankets below him. "It's not really that simple, Jiminie." He avoided looking up at the hybrid to see his reaction. "We could, um... maybe try a nice, calming nighttime routine? Or would it help to maybe not sleep alone?"

Jimin thought it over. He was upset that this wasn't an immediate fix, but those seemed like plausible solutions. He didn't have any nightmares last night when he slept by Jungkook, but that could just be because he was too exhausted to dream. Still, he did enjoy the present comfort. However, sometimes he did enjoy the privacy of being all alone in his secluded room. 

Namjoon noticed his internal conflict, and while he didn't exactly know what it was about, he didn't want to force the young man to answer anything right away. "We can figure something out, if you like. I'm sure we'll find something that works," he assured the hybrid.

Jimin was glad that he was beginning to get some things off of his chest, but everything still felt so unresolved. He knew he was taking big steps here, but he had hoped that admitting these things would instantly fix them. He tried to keep the disappointed pout off of his face, but everything really just felt too fresh after his episode last night for him to curb his emotions. He wanted to respond to the human's assurance of help, but instead he found himself feeling guilty once the thought of 'last night' reentered his head. "I- I also want to say I'm sorry again," Jimin spoke, bowing his head low. "I was very foolish yesterday and you really didn't have to ask me to come back. I am thankful and I will try to be very good from now on. I will work hard with what we just talked about too, I promise." They really were too kind to him. Working on personal goals seemed like it shouldn't take precedence over his saviors' convenience, but they continued to encourage him to open up and let them help nonetheless.

"Like we've said," Jin began, not sounding exasperated at all like his words might have otherwise seemed. "You do not need to apologize. We should be thanking you. Without your bravery, we might not have Jungkook with us anymore."

Jimin hummed but kept his gaze low. "Is it really- ... well, did I- um..."

"You saved his life, Jimin," Namjoon insisted. "You may think that you're in debt to us for taking you in, but even if there was any debt to be paid, we've switched places now. I can't begin to thank you for what you've done for our family, Jimin. You've brought us closer together and you rescued our youngest from a really scary future. I'm sure Yoongi-hyung is just waiting to give you a big kiss."

Jimin giggled at that. "Really?" he asked with a blush.

"Really really," Jin reassured him. "We wouldn't lie to you. You need to believe your hyungs when they tell you that you're loved and that you're so special, okay?"

Jimin leaned back into Jin's chest even though he had given up brushing his fur a while ago. "I will try," he whispered sleepily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Cirque school is nuts and I'm always exhausted but I'm living my dream so what the hell, right? Chapters are always spaced out unfortunately because of my time constraints, but please bear with me!**
> 
>  
> 
> **Anyway, y'all know my bff who does fantastic bts nails right?[Wings ](https://www.instagram.com/p/BQuMNssBato/?taken-by=ellisy_nails)happened XD check out that page, I'm literally in jaw-dropping awe. She made one for each member's solo shot & posted them each individually, you need to check it out. I wish I could contribute to the fandom with something worthwile instead of my AU fanfics LOL. I'm a shitty artist though so that's out of the question.**
> 
>  
> 
> **UGH so as usual, I don't know when the next update will be :/ summer is the busy season for my school because we perform this huuuuge show in June every year. wish me luck, I am getting some good tricks :D**
> 
>  
> 
> **Thank you!**


	23. Regroup

As soon as Taehyung and Jungkook heard the door to Jin and Namjoon's bedroom close, they emerged from the kitchen cautiously to find their owners standing silently in the living room amidst the aftermath. The youngest instantly glued himself to Yoongi's side while Taehyung approached Hoseok with a little more caution. 

"What happened?" Taehyung asked with his tail swishing tensely.

"Nothing," Hoseok insisted, reaching out to pull the younger closer. "Really, everything will be fine."

Taehyung nodded slowly, gnawing on his lower lip. "Can we go to the park, hyung?" 

Hoseok took in Taehyung's uneasy expression and agreed instantly. "Of course. Why don't you go pick out a ball to take with us," he suggested, nudging Taehyung in the direction of their bedroom. "Don't forget a coat!"

Yoongi waited until Hoseok had also left the room to find his own jacket to try speaking to Jungkook. "Are you alright?" he asked gently, petting his hybrid between the ears. Jungkook nodded against the older's shoulder where his head was leaning. "Would you like to go lie down? You seem a bit tired."

"I'm not tired, hyung. I slept all day..." Jungkook mumbled. Yoongi hummed and stilled his hand, threading his fingers through the hair on the back of Jungkook's head. "Well how about a nice hot bath?"

"I don't know..."

"Video games?"

"I don't know, hyung. I don't know what I want to do. Nothing seems appealing right now..."

Yoongi frowned, knowing that even when Jungkook is bored, he'll always want to either nap or play a game. His refusal to do either made his heart clench a bit, wondering how his hybrid was truly feeling emotionally after his scary encounter just the night before. "Why don't we go join Hobi and Tae at the park and then we'll come home and wash up. We can play something tonight, just the two of us. Does that sound okay?"

Jungkook sighed, finally lifting his head from the older's shoulder. "I guess," he murmured in a hesitant tone. 

"Let's go- it'll be good to get out of the apartment, I think." When he noticed Hoseok coming back out to the front hall, he caught his attention. "Wait up a minute, Kook and I are going to tag along if that's alright."

"Sure," the human agreed easily. "Everything alright?" he asked, glancing warily at Jungkook when the hybrid looked down.

Yoongi smiled a bit sadly. "Yeah, I think we just need to get some fresh air."

Taehyung came jogging up to them in the next moment, holding out a dirty, ragged tennis ball to his owner. "This one," he said conclusively, and Hoseok wasn't surprised. It was a personal favourite of Taehyung's, though they didn't use it as much anymore; it spent more time on top of the dresser than being tossed between them. "Alright," Hoseok replied, accepting the ball and tucking it into his coat pocket. He inspected his hybrid to make sure he'd be warm enough in his chosen attire and didn't make any other moves until he deemed it appropriate (though he still slung a scarf around the younger's neck on their way out the door).

The two waited in the doorway as Yoongi and Jungkook put on their boots and coats, securing warm hats on each other's heads. Hoseok always loved seeing Yoongi's overtly thoughtful side. The older man was always overflowing with care for his loved ones, but he rarely acted on it in an obvious manner. It was usually subtle things, like letting Jimin sit on his bedroom floor while he worked and tossing the hybrid a granola bar when he heard his stomach growl. Jungkook always brought out this side of Yoongi with ease and it warmed Hoseok's heart to see. 

Once all four were ready, Hoseok locked the apartment door behind them and they began the short trek along the icy sidewalks to the park. The streets weren't empty, but thankfully they weren't as busy as they'd been before. Yoongi had an arm placed securely around Jungkook's waist anyway, simply to serve as an extra precaution. He knew he wasn't the strongest of the four, but he'd give anyone hell if they tried to mess with Jungkook again.

The walk to the park was silent, and while it wasn't necessarily an awkward silence, there was still the tension of all that had transpired hanging over all of their shoulders like a dark rain cloud. 

Yoongi was worried for them- as a group. While their three original hybrids weren't exactly the most sheltered, they'd never quite experienced something so traumatic before, and Yoongi had no clue how to address it. He assumed Hoseok felt the same way, but he hadn't had an opportunity to discuss it with him or Namjoon yet seeing as none of them wished to leave their hybrids' sides at the moment. He couldn't help but wonder how Jungkook was really feeling, but he didn't know how beneficial it would be to bring it back up out of the blue so soon after it happened. He wasn't sure if Jungkook needed time to sort out his thoughts or if he needed Yoongi to intervene and help him work it out.

All of this was new to Yoongi--in fact, the past few weeks had been entirely new to him. He'd been seeing each new hardship or slip-up as a positive learning experience for himself and the rest of their small group. However, he had a hard time twisting this around in his head. Perhaps it would make Jungkook more receptive to Jimin? Maybe this would help them bond and become close friends. Yoongi knew it probably wasn't worth Jungkook experiencing something outrageous in order for the two hybrids to connect as he's sure it would have happened naturally in time, but he was having a hard time seeing the upside.

Only once Taehyung and Hoseok started jogging ahead did Yoongi realize they'd made it to the park. He followed behind at the same leisurely pace with Jungkook by his side, heading for a bench overlooking the large field of grass yellowing from the cold. Jungkook and Hoseok often took this route when they went for jogs together, doing laps around the field before continuing along into the park. 

Yoongi sat himself comfortably on the very edge of the bench and allowed Jungkook to stretch out with his head in the human's lap. Yoongi watched with a small smile as Jungkook's tail kept twitching in an effort to find a comfortable position before curling up over his stomach. The bench was a perfect spot to warm up; despite the cold breeze, the sun shone down on the field strongly and provided some nice heat for any exposed skin. Jungkook seemed perfectly content to take a brief cat nap while Hoseok tossed the ball to Taehyung. 

Yoongi took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh, his hand falling to push his hybrid's beanie off gently so he could stroke the top of Jungkook's head while he watched Hoseok's throws gradually get longer and longer until Taehyung was basically running nonstop to keep up with it.

"I don't understand how he has that much energy," Jungkook grumbled, glancing at the others with one eye open. "Didn't he spend half the night running around town?"

Yoongi grimaced and his hand stilled in the younger's hair. "He's just got a lot nervous energy. You know the way Taehyung is. Talking about his feelings comes second to running out the anxiety."

"I don't get it," Jungkook huffed, closing both eyes again. His tail twitched ever so slightly--just enough for Yoongi to know to press him on it.

"No?" he asked casually. "Would you rather talk?"

Jungkook's nose scrunched up and his ears started flattening a bit, but his eyes remained closed. "No," he mumbled.

"Why's that?" Yoongi's hand resumed its stroking.

"Talking's stupid," he said grumpily. "It doesn't fix anything."

Yoongi smiled sadly. "It could if you actually try it. I know you don't like opening up, and honestly I'm with you there, but sometimes it's... important," he said pointedly. Yoongi could tell Jungkook was practically rolling his eyes beneath his closed lids.

"Stop doing that."

The older didn't have to ask 'doing what?' because he knew. He knew it took a lot to make Jungkook share his thoughts and he knew he was one of the only people who could make it happen. Instead of answering right away, Yoongi turned his attention back to the other pair with them. He watched in silence as Hoseok smiled fondly at Taehyung's running back and flopping ears every time he threw the ball. 

"It's just... there's nothing to talk about," Jungkook continued (predictably). 

"Kookie," Yoongi ignored Jungkook's scoff and grumble of 'stop calling me that' in favor of getting his point across. "You don't have to be tough with me, you know. If there's anything I can possibly do to make you feel safer or happier, you know I will be glad to do it." He paused for a moment to see if Jungkook had anything to interject. At the hybrid's silence, he elaborated. "I need you to understand that even if you don't have the words to explain yourself, I'll support you. If you want a big-ass mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream, then that's what you get, no questions asked."

Jungkook frowned and Yoongi noticed the way the tip of his tail was still fidgeting. "But what if... I don't even know what I want?" The hybrid opened his eyes slowly, glancing up innocently at the older.

"Well then you let me know that something's going on and we'll figure it out together."

"I feel all shaky. It's not like I'm scared, just... on edge. I don't know what to do about it- I don't want to sit still but nothing sounds appealing," Jungkook vented, not breaking eye contact for once. Yoongi nodded slowly, tying Jungkook's behavior this morning to this admission.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but it's completely understandable. You're not weird or different for feeling anxious, trust me," Yoongi assured the younger. He ruffled Jungkook's hair and smiled softly at his responding pout. "We'll work it out, okay? Do you feel a little better out in the sunshine?"

"I guess," he replied thoughtfully. "I feel like it should be the opposite thought."

"Ah, don't go judging how you _should_  be feeling- you'll drive yourself crazy that way," Yoongi commented while smoothing out the mess he made atop Jungkook's head. "When we get home, we can try some different activities to see if any of them help. We can try reading, playing video games, doing one of Namjoonie's puzzles, and I'll even let you record a guide track for me if you'd like."

Jungkook didn't look entirely satisfied, but the tightness of his features had relaxed at least. "We can try." It was silent for a few moments save the sound of Hoseok and Taehyung's playful shouting and huffing. "So do you really mean you'll do  _anything_  I want?" Jungkook asked slyly, in such a way that would usually have Yoongi backtracking immediately. This time however, he replied with a resounding "of course" without a moment's hesitation. Jungkook smiled happily, his eyes squinting a little at the action. "Will you come with me and Hoseok-hyung on our next jog?"

Yoongi took a deep breath, closing his eyes before releasing it in a sigh. "I would love to," he forced out through gritted teeth, opening his eyes again as he raised his eyebrows challengingly at the hybrid in his lap. Jungkook giggled cutely, his ears twitching and tail flicking lazily into the air while he pulled his knees up higher. "Thanks, hyung," he said; knowing how hard Yoongi was trying to make him happy was enough for him to put his fears on the back-burner for the time being.

"Yeah, you're welcome."

* * *

 

That night after dinner, the seven mulled around in the common rooms of their apartment with classical music playing softly through the living room speakers..

Jungkook and Jimin sat on the carpet around the coffe table focusing very intently on completing one of Namjoon's 1000-piece puzzles with a forest print, Yoongi sat at the kitchen table working on his laptop, Namjoon rested on the loveseat reading while Jin relaxed against the armrest with his eyes closed, a facemask on, and his legs in his owner's lap, and Hoseok was in the middle of giving Taehyung a well-deserved belly rub, who was splayed out on the sofa with a tired look on his face.

It had been quiet for a long time; nothing but the faint sound of music, the flipping of pages, tapping of keys, an occasional sigh, and lazy mumbling from Jimin and Jungkook was heard as the time ticked by and the sun set outside the windows. Before long, the apartment was set in a dim but warm glow. The red and amber shades of sunlight from outside mixed oddly with the incandescent bulbs from the floor lamp in the corner and the table lamp next to Namjoon along with the faint glow of Yoongi's open laptop.

The whole environment felt cozy and domestic but with tense undertones that made each of the humans a bit unsettled. Everyone glanced up passively when Yoongi got up, his chair squaking against the floor as he pushed himself away from the table. 

"I'm making coffee. Anyone want some?" he muttered, his low voice still heard clearly. 

"Um," Jimin stuttered shyly, his upper body twisted to face the open entrance to the kitchen. "Hot chocolate?"

Yoongi couldn't hold back a grin that only grew fonder when he saw Jungkook glance at the back of Jimin's head with his own timid smile. 

"Me too, please," the youngest said playfully.

Hoseok grinned at the two younger boys before glancing at his own. "Tae?" he prompted. The hybrid smiled lazily. "Yeah, sounds perfect. Extra marshmallows."

Namjoon nudged Jin's leg lightly to see if he was interested in partaking. "Hmm, can you make me some tea?" he hummed nonchalantly without opening his eyes.

Yoongi rolled his eyes but didn't complain at all the drink requests coming through. Normally he'd make a show out of his feigned annoyance, but he figured everyone deserved a break and a little pampering tonight. 

Once Jungkook and Jimin had refocused on their meager progress with the puzzle, Hoseok turned his attention back to Taehyung. He flicked his ear lightly, earning a cute grimace and a huff in response. "You good, TaeTae?"

Taehyung's face returned to neutral and he sniffled his nose a few times. "I'm alright, hyung. Wore myself out today." He nuzzled his owner's hand to encourage it to continue stroking his hair and his tummy. He was practically dozing off from the calming way Hoseok pet him. His tail thumped against the sofa cushions every once in a while to show his appreciation to his owner and the presence of his friends around the room. He was admittedly a little exhausted from recent events, but a relaxing night in surrounded by the silent support of his chosen family was enough to placate his mind for now. He'd probably have some stuff to work through in the morning, but he knew he wouldn't have to do it all by himself. He'd never had to deal with things himself, for which he was immensely grateful. His heart filled with warmth despite the fleeting reminders of unsettled concerns; Hoseok was always a wonderful distraction when he needed it.

Yoongi came in minutes later holding two mugs per hand, setting them down gently on the corner of the coffee table not being used for official puzzle business and handed them out to the hybrids, making sure Jin got his tea and Taehyung his marshmallows. Jimin's tail wagged in excitement at the drink while Jungkook's eyebrows raised and his tail flicked in interest at his hyung's reaction. Yoongi smirked as he left the room, settling back into his chair with a deep sigh. He sipped at his black coffee as soft chatter flowed from the living room, melding pleasantly with the piano melody playing in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Next chapter I'm going for some more vhope & vmin :D Sorry it's so short, but I didn't want you to have to wait longer!!**
> 
> **Anyway, I suppose you're questioning my absence.......**
> 
> **So after my summer show, I ended up on tour with my company from mid July to late December, and my laptop was stolen when we were in Brazil sometime in August :( Realistically speaking, I could have typed this on my phone, but I honestly didn't want to deal with the trouble of tapping at a phone screen late at night in foreign hotel rooms. I got a new computer last week, so here we are :) Never had plans to ditch this story, and I never will~**


End file.
